I'm going to say no. Not an emphatic no, but no none the less.
I see a lot of righteous indignation here and it is understandable. I however, like to keep in mind that he is a young man with his whole life ahead of him....do we as a society just punish someone for a mistake (horrible or otherwise) for the rest of their life? Hell even murderers get released after serving their time (depending on how heinous the act was).
I always look at it this way....would you be so harsh if it were your child? Would want the world to essentially exile your offspring due a lapse in judgement? Would you want them to have their entire future denied them due to ONE incident?
It's always easy to have such a strong stance when it relates to a stranger....but that is not always the case.
People deserve second chances....otherwise we would all be ****ed at some point.
His situation is, should the NHL refuse to provide Voynov a continued millionaire's living, the KHL will do it's best to provide one for him. This isn't a situation where we need to lower our standards just to provide the appearance that his have somehow raised.
I get the want and need for forgiveness as something that distinguishes our societies (Thankfully) from others. But this is the kind of thing that should yield penalty. It's rarified air to play a child's game for millions of dollars, to adoring fans, celebration of media and really within most of the society in various forms of "gratitude". If the message sent by the NHL is, it's fine, you're forgiven, don't do it again (suspension, etc all taken into consideration), personally I don't think that's the right message.
Hockey operates (or at least does a remarkable job maintaining the appearance of) at a different level from the other big sports, or so it seems. I could care less what relativists say - I like that, and I want that to continue. I don't want the norms of basketball and football oozing into the fabric of the game's culture. And forgiving Voynov's cowardice seems like a gateway to it.
So, to your questions:
[W]ould you be so harsh if it were your child? I wouldn't stand in the way of necessary correction, mindful to point out that the actions taken were contrary to everything ever demonstrated and taught, egregious moreover because the very consequences experienced, were those that were given a preventative cautionary tales.
Would want the world to essentially exile your offspring due a lapse in judgement? The world isn't going to end for Voynov. That's the fact. He's not facing exile, he's facing having to make a living in the country he was born in or the continent proximate to his country. He's likely still going to make ridiculous amounts of money by normative societal means.
And the fact he will be able to and not for example suffer longer prison term, or "justice" at the hands of a justifiably angry family is material representation of forgiveness.
So he doesn't get to live a North American millionaire's lifestyle but still gets to play hockey for a living for bags of cash? Interesting definition of exile.
Would you want them to have their entire future denied them due to ONE incident?
Compared to the privielge provided, I wouldn't want a lifestyle they weren't apparently equipped to steward appropriately and respectfully. And as said given the similarity of the question, ONE incident can determine a person's future. When that ONE incident is such a deformation, a deviation from ethical and moral standard...Yes, I would want the future produced by the present that indicated compromise of a vital nature, removed from them for their good and those that would potentially be in harm's way.
What some people refer to as "compassion" isn't compassion - it's idiocy.
Relativism is killing society. I don't want to handhold people like Voynov back to their worry-free, worship-saturated, millionaire, devil may care lifestyle, while their audience shields them from the reality they're protected from only to endure life and all of it's realities. I would rather pack his bags and drive him to the airport and have Georges Laramie ride shotgun, walk him to Departures and bid him in no uncertain terms - Adieu.
great post
