Equal Space to Female Players

by Rochelle Bergman

I may be many things, but I am fair. So on that note, I will write this column. I will give equal space to the female players of this great game as I did for the male ones.

On Friday December 20th, 2013,  a game was played between Canada and the U.S. female hockey teams. A huge fight broke out and there was a lot of punching and other fighting actions. There really wasn’t any difference between any other  brawl I ever saw, only that it was females.

My last column was about fighting in the NHL. My thoughts about brawls in the game has not changed since then. Is the stress too much for players? Are we making them dangerous by adding so much pressure?  Is the outlet for stress punching and hitting?  A little brawl with a few little punches might add some spice to a game. I remember seeing games where there was smaller brawls and they were fine. They lasted for a few minutes and no one got hurt! Now, the fights are different. Females are acting like their male counterparts, is this OK or am I over thinking it too much?

I guess this topic will be talked about, written about, and argued about in the future. It is one of the topics where everyone has their own thoughts and ideas. I know that both genders fight and they do it equally. Who says that the genders are not equal in some ways in the hockey world?

For me, it was hard to see males fighting and getting hurt by other players. To see female players doing the same thing was concerning and a bit ugly. We are brought up to be mothers, to be supportive, loving and caring, not to be brawling on the ice. Maybe it is me who needs to change?

Besides the brawling, female hockey is great to watch. Exciting to see and it picked me up and carried me away like the other fans!