[Mb-civic] Locker Boxing - a violent concern!

[Michael Butler]

I sure agree. The violence is so bad. But if I was selling armaments I would
promote violence in entertainment.
Michael




> I caught this locker room boxing thing on the news tonight
> 
> It is the violence thing that concerns me, it seems to be an extreme fighting
> underground thing.
> 
> When I was a teen, I saw locker room brush ups, even was in one or two, but
> not like this!
> 
> These events are digitally taped and put on the internet, the new machismo
> ........  huh???????
> 
> Why so violent? CTV News aired a couple of scenes, and they are more violent
> than the ultra cage fighting on TSN ??
> 
> Culture is weird, but what is this all about and why?
> 
> Point being, I'm seeing so much violence in the community for entertainment
> and I do not get it! Nor that I want to, just why and how can it be stopped!
> 
> I do not know?
> 
> Later H
> 
> Here is the story, I pasted it from CTV News
> 
> 'Locker boxing'
> 
>  
> Dr. Kevin Gordon of Dalhousie University
> 
>  
> Scott Randles suffered a concussion from locker boxing two years ago.
> 
>  
> Sharon Randles, told CTV.ca she was horrified by her son's injury.
> 
> CTV.ca News Staff
>   
> Updated: Fri. May. 12 2006 9:40 PM ET
> 
> Medical experts are ringing alarm bells over a so-called rite of passage for
> adolescents, played out in hockey and lacrosse locker rooms across North
> America, known as "locker boxing."
> 
> The battles, also known as a "cage match" or "helmets and gloves" are
> generally held after a game, with teammates sitting around cheering on the
> combatants. A match typically pits two players against each other in an
> all-out boxing match.
> 
> Required equipment includes helmets and hockey gloves as competitors attempt
> to land more blows to the head than their opponent.
> 
> Only punches to the head are permitted, and the match is stopped when one of
> the fighters gives up, gets knocked down, or their helmet is knocked off.
> 
> An editorial in the May/June edition of the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine
> brings attention to the dangerous fighting game, pointing out the risks of
> concussion, in addition to the black eyes, broken noses and bloodied lips that
> often occur.
> 
> The editorial described locker boxing as "adolescent risk-taking behaviour
> with significant potential for concussion."
> 
> "These are children who are getting concussions out of what they think is a
> sport, which is fairly dangerous for them," Dr. Kevin Gordon of Dalhousie
> University, the lead author of the editorial, told CTV News.
> 
> The editorial states that teen athletes often view the battles as a
> "time-honoured test of manhood," and feel peer pressure to participate.
> 
> For Scott Randles, a 14-year-old from Lower Sackville, N.S. who suffered a
> concussion from locker boxing two years ago, it's had a life-altering effect.
> 
> Following Randles' locker boxing concussion, he had three other hockey-related
> concussions, one coming just three games after the initial incident.
> 
> Now, two years later, his memory is weak and he has trouble concentrating.
> 
> "Sometimes I blank out and I'll look at the clock and it will be two minutes
> later," Randles said. "It's a lot harder to learn stuff, and it's a lot harder
> to remember things."
> 
> Contact sports are no longer an option, but he's taken up playing guitar and
> bass to fill the void.
> 
> His mother, Sharon Randles, told CTV.ca she was horrified by her son's injury.
> 
> "You hope not, but you're expecting that if your child is going to get hurt
> playing hockey it's going to be on the ice," she said.
> 
> The editorial describes three other adolescents who were involved in locker
> boxing matches. Two were male hockey players, while the third was a female
> hockey player.
> 
> In all three cases, the participants experienced concussion symptoms such as
> dizziness, pounding headaches and unsteadiness or the inability to stand on
> their own. But in all the cases described, the athletes played their next
> scheduled games and the injuries weren't reported for several days, because of
> the secrecy surrounding locker boxing.
> 
> One of the males, a 15-year-old, was knocked unconscious during a match in a
> dressing room before a hockey game. He remembers hearing a teammate say
> "There's a haymaker," and then later regaining consciousness on the ground.
> 
> The second male, 13, was knocked out by an uppercut during a bout with a
> larger adolescent. He had already suffered two previous concussions in the
> preceding months.
> 
> In the third, and perhaps most surprising incident noted in the editorial, a
> female on an under-17 hockey team was rendered unconscious during a fight, and
> fell limply to the ground after being hit. When her coach came to the door to
> investigate, her teammates dragged her unresponsive body out of sight.
> 
> The editorial suggests that many coaches are aware locker boxing takes place,
> and that it is tolerated and even encouraged in some cases, particularly by
> lacrosse coaches.
> 
> Coaches need to be more proactive in preventing cage matches from taking
> place, the editorial urged, pointing out that Hockey Canada's rules outline
> requirements that make team officials responsible for locker boxing.
> 
> Rule 47 reads as follows: "Team officials shall be responsible for their
> conduct and that of their players at all times. They must endeavour to prevent
> disorderly conduct before, during or after the game, on or off the ice and
> anyplace in the rink."
> 
> The report also suggested that parents and coaches should increase supervision
> and ensure players are fully aware of the risks associated with locker boxing