Over the weekend, Jonathan Roy, a hack of goalie compared to his Father, St. Patrick Roy, was seen visibly pummeling his opponent, Bobby Nadeau from the Chicoutimi Sagueens as the Quebec Remparts were involved in a line brawl against the Sags.
If you haven't seen the video, I suppose I should start with that.
Now both Jonathan and his father were suspended - 7 games for Junior and 5 for Senior. The next night, in the OHL, Steven Stamkos (who is projected to go #1 overall in this year's NHL Entry Draft) delivered a cross check to an opponent that started a line brawl.
Only one player was suspended. Only one. I keep reading about the Roy's need to be given a lifetime ban, and how Jonathan is a hack. Now I agree that Jonathan is not the best goalie in the world - he played two years in Wilcox, Saskatchewan at Notre Dame, but I don't believe that this needs to be looked at in the courts, nor do I believe that he needs to be banned for life.
Others are commenting on the fact that the $400 fines handed out are laughable, considering the amount of money that Roy Sr. has. Umm... Roy is one of the only former NHL stars coaching in the CHL. Not every CHL coach is rolling in money. Fines go with the way the coaches and players are paid - and in the CHL the pay is minimal for both coaches and players.
The larger question, I suppose is why everyone is so up in arms over the behaviour of Patrick Roy's son - when no one cares about what Stamkos - a future STAR did. People are claiming that the Roy's got the star treatment with their suspensions. Yet Stamkos wasn't suspended.
Where is the double standard? Is the double standard in the suspensions handed out? Or is it in the media attention shown?
Jonathan's behaviour only received media attention because he is St. Patrick's son. He is barely a QMJHL player. He's almost third string. Nepotism has gotten him to the CHL - and there are those who say it will get him to the NHL. I personally beg to differ on that point. However there are future NHL stars like Stamkos who get away with vicious cross checks and other behaviour all the time, because they are able to live out their Major Junior careers in relative obscurity.
Jonathan Roy is now receiving some the attention garnered by Sidney Crosby in his last year as a junior. In a year when there WAS no NHL, everything Crosby did was scrutinized by the media. His every move questioned and evaluated.
Jonathan Roy is no Sidney Crosby. He fought, he flipped the crowd the bird. He did not "viciously attack" someone. Nadeau was on the blue line, calling him on. When it appeared that the officials had Roy under control, Nadeau retreated to his crease - and yes, Jonathan took off after him.
Were Jonathan's actions wrong? Of course they were. He probably should have stopped pummelling Nadeau when he turtled. Roy, however is still a kid. He made a mistake. Should Stamkos have crossed checked his opponent in the back? Of course not.
However, if we are going to dissect the line brawl on Saturday and call for life time bans, criminal charges and jail time, then we as a society have responsibility to avoid hypocrisy of the masses, and dissect Sunday's line brawl as well, and call for life time bans, criminal charges and jail time.
I've heard the argument that it is the high profile cases with big names that teach others that behaviour is wrong. Paris Hilton going to jail for DUI apparently taught every Tom, Dick and Harry - or Suzy, Sally and Jane that drinking and driving was wrong. Apparently it sent a message.
DUI numbers haven't dropped since then. I highly doubt that severely punishing the Roy's will send a message that transcends the lines of various leagues. Fighting is a part of hockey, and, right or wrong, it is up to the individual leagues to police themselves. Not for the public.
As for Bobby Nadeau? He should be ashamed of himself for running his mouth and then turtling. Just as Roy should be ashamed of himself for pummelling an opponent who wanted nothing to do with the fight and for flipping the bird to the crowd.
As for the media and the public - they should be ashamed of themselves for the rampant hypocrisy that has been demonstrated in this case, and lay off Roy Jr. He is, after all, just a kid, and its not like he chose his parents.
The leagues involved in both the Roy incident and the Stamkos incident should also be ashamed of themselves. The QMJHL should be ashamed of themselves for giving in to public pressure. The OHL should be ashamed of themselves for NOT handing out a suspension because of the lack of public pressure. The prosecutors in Quebec should also be ashamed of themselves for looking into charges in one of many brawls that occur in the QMJHL throughout the season.
Last, but certainly not least, Stamkos should be ashamed of himself for losing his temper and even more, for getting away with it. I can't blame Stamkos for not being punished, but surely even he knows that he deserves a suspension, in fact, if someone had delivered the same blow to him, I truly believe his team would have been clamoring for a suspension.
So while there is raw outrage at the Roy's - my outrage is directed at the public that ignores the facts, at leagues that demonstrate hypocrisy when media attention is on them, and at hockey players who apparently can't control themselves, whether they are stars or the sons of former hockey greats.
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