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As we first all you the other day a man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the death of hockey player Adam Johnson Johnson died after suffering a slash neck during a hockey game last month in the UK all right for more on this we’re joined Now
By sports analyst Rod black Rod good morning to you and police they say they launched an investigation immediately after this incident on the ice do we have any details as to what that investigation found and what led to an arrest being made here well good morning to you both I I’ve
Chatted with you about a lot of sports subjects this is one that um I never in a million years would have thought because it was such a freak accident or incident um yeah it has become a criminal investigation I a manslaughter involuntary manslaughter charge is what
I have heard uh they have not announced uh in the press in London England uh or in the United Kingdom you know who the uh the person who has been charged and there isn’t a charge yet it is Matt petgrave though the player who was involved with Adam Johnson um and it’s
It’s a very unique situation we have had players charged in hockey incidents in the past but certainly nothing like this but I think anybody who knows the game and anybody who saw the incident as well even though they’re talking about the kicking motion that came with it would
Have to say that this has been an absolutely tragic event not only for the Johnson family for Matt petgrave as well um but it is something that is going to be Ong goinging as well over the next little while so we will know more R you mentioned those other instances where
Charges have been laid against players extremely rare but let’s just remind viewers about those incidents uh where we’ve seen criminal charges laid in the NHL well we’ve seen it before with Marty murle Todd bertusi and again those were aggressive acts of on the ice where players were charged and um you know
They actually had to do do some probation time they had to give fines out the NHL at the time the National Hockey League also handed out fines and suspensions they policed themselves but you know rarely does something like this happen where a skate is involved however
It has happened in the past we saw this in the past and there was never any Criminal Intent at all and I think that’s what obviously investigators are looking at but you go back to the Clint malarchuk incident that happened years and years ago with a scap blade to a
And he lost so much blood and he was lucky to survive Richard Zednik also got a skate to the throat area and so we’re at a time now now that we have to think about this yeah is it a freak accident yeah so is getting struck by lightning
But we hear about people getting struck by lightning and the the idea is don’t go outside uh or or you know find safe place and same thing I think for a hockey rink it is a very dangerous game we have to understand that and people
Can get cut can get hurt all right just like back then this latest incident Rod it has reignited the debate about sports in the courts uh what role does the legal system have when it comes to what happens on a hockey rank in the arena or
On the field of play well if there is any intent you know obviously I mean it’s it is a game I mean it’s just it’s just not hockey there’s you know we’ve seen acts of aggression in other sports as well um and if there is an intent and
It’s aggressive I’m sure that the courts are going to get involved we’re at that kind of we’re in that world right now and and and we’re also in a world of litigation for a lot of people but we’re talking about somebody dying here a young hockey player who died and again I
Do believe it is an absolute freak freak injury or accident I do believe it is one that could have been prevented but I do also think that you know when they look at this they’re probably looking did Matt pet grave try to kick uh with intent to hurt did he try to seriously
Hurt him try to kill kill him no of course not but I think this is where the law is going to start getting involved and because of the dangers involved you guys I I I I do think that we might see the legal system get involved a little
More we’ve had players in many sports charged as we said in the past over uh overaggressive incidents Rod apart from this specific situation you just said a couple moments ago hockey is a dangerous sport so does the sport need to be more proactive when it comes to the issue of player safety
And less reactive you know whether it’s neck guards face mask body contact these issues have come up over and over again and it seems that it has to take an a major injury for us to rethink things well it’s life we’ve seen it in life you know unfortunately a pedestrian gets hit
In an area where there’s no crosswalk and then the next thing you know there’s a crosswalk and I don’t mean to bring it down to that level or up to that level but Sports is like that too I mean if you look at hockey uh you know players
Male players protected uh the Family Jewels for many years before they Protected Their Heads and then finally it took a player on the ice to die bill masterton before they started to legislate helmets it took them 11 years to put helmets into play and then of course visors and you know face
Protection but we I think we’ve been really reticent perhaps and and negligent to to think about the neck area and the wrists area the areas where the the skate blades are so sharp by the way it happens in minor sport you hear about it a lot or sometimes you don’t hear about
It because it’s in a small town somewhere players have died it also took the National Hockey League uh you know a long time to put netting up until unfortunately uh a spectator was struck a young girl was struck and died and they put netting up same thing in
Baseball they put netting up and yeah we you’re right we are so reactive this one seems so logical iCal to me young players now in hockey minor hockey boys and girls wear neck guards since they’re growing up they’ve been wearing them for a long time to me there’s no reason why
They can’t gra graduate that to the junior level and even to the pro level so we don’t see something as horrific as that happening the Clint malarchuk one should have been a cautionary tale when we saw how a bender I mean they did put protection in but look what happened
After that we are at a stage now where I think yes net guard protect or rist guard or any area where you can get cut uh we have to we have to put that into play all right we’re going to have to leave it there for now Rod
Appreciate your time as always and your perspective thanks so much for joining us this morning good to see you good to see you
Sports analyst Rod Black provides an in-depth analysis of the arrest related to the tragic death of former NHL hockey player Adam Johnson, delving into the investigative details from the “freak accident”, legal considerations, past incidents in the NHL, and the broader discussion around player safety in the sport.
Jonhson, The 29-year-old Minnesota native was playing for the Nottingham Panthers in a Challenge Cup game against the Sheffield Steelers when he suffered a slashed neck during the second period of the game at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.
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this is not a freak accident
if the situation was the other way around these “news” sites would name the guy, definitely say it was intentional and call for the death penalty for him.
He's very careful i guess for legal reasons to not call the action deliberate but I will. It was 100% intentionally reckless.
Players give implied consent for violent action against them in contact sports. But that doesn't include plays that are outside the rules of the game. Definitely not one as blatant as this. Throw the book at him.