Hello ladies! I thought I'd throw a bit of a toughie at you this week. Our topic comes from a story in the January 9th issue of The Hockey News and I believe it will make you think about just as it made me has since I read it.
The article by Nathan White examines a player, Benjamin Rubin, of the Quebec Remparts in the Quebec League of the CHL. Rubin, 17, plays left wing under coach Patrick Roy who signed him as a free agent. Roy had a "tough call" to make upon bringing Rubin to the team - As an Orthodox Jew, Rubin is Shomer Shabbat, meaning he observes the Sabbath as a day of rest from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. Coach Roy allows Rubin to sit out practices or games that fall on the Sabbath or Jewish holidays.
The media attention that this decision has brought to Rubin has led to his parents asking that he not do any more interviews about it. His arrangement means that he is not on the ice on the two nights of the week that most scouts turn up in the stands but Roy believes that Rubin could be selected in the 2007 entry draft.
This brings me to the questions that I have been pondering: Should Rubin put aside his religion for a chance to play in the NHL? Should the league support players who follow a religion to sit out games? Should it be up to the GM, coach or player to decide if he should play? Is it discriminatory to make a player get on the ice?
PS: Don't forget to send your suggestions along for the weekly topic, creative challenge or Friday Five.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Weekly Topic, Jan 8 - 14: Hockey and Religion
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1 comment:
holy crap, batman. that's a tough q to handle... and I know I'm going to struggle with it cuz I'm very familliar with jews and judaism... I almost converted once. hmm... I don't know. tough question... something to think about and i'll post up a reply later on.
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