Will Neal Dive Deter Others?
This weeks question, comes from one of our devoted fans in the UK,
'James Neal is the first NHL player to be booked for diving. Will this put off other potential floppers or will it deter players who've been genuinely fouled from falling to ground?' IheartModano- Darn good question fellow European reader, let's take a closer look at this.
Officially Neal is the first ever NHL player to be named and shamed for diving and has been fined $2,000 for his offense- pocket change really to these guys. On November 13th, Neal was given a warning for the same offense after a game against St Louis, but it appears he didn't think to tune in for that weeks episode. Cue exactly a month later against, San Jose, he then decided to try the very same act again!
But what will be the result of this whole thing? Hockey is a tough and physical game, but there are times when you wonder how many others are flopping the getting away it? The punishments that have been set out are not really the kind of hardened ones that we would expect. Should Neal or any other player try diving again, they will be fined $1,000 for the pleasure and if they go ahead more times, the maximum will be only $5,000. For guys on multimillion dollar contracts, this isn't much of a deterrent.
However, the close proximity in which they will be watched from now on could well be a game changer. The league is intent on stamping down on this kinds of silly playing acting shenanigans.
The publicity that can arise will be the ultimate shame, in this guy everyone likes to thought of as being tough and comically falling to earth like a sack of potatoes can hurt a mans reputation. Here we shall have to spare a thought of those guys who play hurt. Being afraid of being laughed at or ridiculed could be a risk that one player could consider too much.
Fighting through the pain can lead something infinity more serious, but in this game reputation is key and I cannot think of one Hockey player who would want to be thought of as being soft. The NHL needs to keep this fact in mind because although Neal despite his pleas of innocence (and three prior suspensions) deserves to be punished. Not all guys put on such a great show.
'James Neal is the first NHL player to be booked for diving. Will this put off other potential floppers or will it deter players who've been genuinely fouled from falling to ground?' IheartModano- Darn good question fellow European reader, let's take a closer look at this.
Officially Neal is the first ever NHL player to be named and shamed for diving and has been fined $2,000 for his offense- pocket change really to these guys. On November 13th, Neal was given a warning for the same offense after a game against St Louis, but it appears he didn't think to tune in for that weeks episode. Cue exactly a month later against, San Jose, he then decided to try the very same act again!
But what will be the result of this whole thing? Hockey is a tough and physical game, but there are times when you wonder how many others are flopping the getting away it? The punishments that have been set out are not really the kind of hardened ones that we would expect. Should Neal or any other player try diving again, they will be fined $1,000 for the pleasure and if they go ahead more times, the maximum will be only $5,000. For guys on multimillion dollar contracts, this isn't much of a deterrent.
However, the close proximity in which they will be watched from now on could well be a game changer. The league is intent on stamping down on this kinds of silly playing acting shenanigans.
The publicity that can arise will be the ultimate shame, in this guy everyone likes to thought of as being tough and comically falling to earth like a sack of potatoes can hurt a mans reputation. Here we shall have to spare a thought of those guys who play hurt. Being afraid of being laughed at or ridiculed could be a risk that one player could consider too much.
Fighting through the pain can lead something infinity more serious, but in this game reputation is key and I cannot think of one Hockey player who would want to be thought of as being soft. The NHL needs to keep this fact in mind because although Neal despite his pleas of innocence (and three prior suspensions) deserves to be punished. Not all guys put on such a great show.
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