Do Hockey Players Consent to Assault?

Thanks for joining me today. Like many Canadians, I’m a really big hockey fan. I love the NHL, watching it. I want to talk to you a little bit about the limits of consent and hockey. We all know you know, in hockey we effectively are consenting to be assaulted to a certain extent in hockey. If you think about it, it’s a body checking sport. So you’re running into other players, there’s great physicality.

There’s implied consent, when I joined minor hockey after the age of hitting I don’t know what it was it was like we started hitting when I was about five but now I think it’s in peewee or something I haven’t been following minor hockey but so a player from that level right up to the NHL show that you’re consenting to being assaulted essential, if you know, you expect normal body checking you pro0bably expect some slashing hacking and whacking and things like that you’re consenting to that. We’re consenting to getting in consensual fights that’s allowed in hockey.

I guess you get suspended in minor hockey for that. I don’t think they suspended the OHL? And, of course fighting is a part of the NHL part of the entertainment. Unfortunately, we all hate to I should admit, I don’t mind watching fights in the NHL every now and then. But what are the bounds of except, when does it exceed? Well, I think the answer that, like you recall Donald Bashir was charged with assault and pled guilty. I think there was a stick thing. I don’t think anyone would consent to for example, playing hockey stick swing intentionally not accidentally.

You’ll recall an incident because for the old timers like me that was Wayne Macki back from the 60s, they were both charged in a horrible stick swinging incident. I don’t know how love of God they were acquitted. I haven’t read the case on that. But both of them were acquitted. I think Ted Green wound up with a plate in his head but maybe they’re claiming self defense they both got acquitted I don’t know, but you’ll have to look at that case. But the bottom line is this, in hockey we can consent to body checking, we consent to physicality, probably slashing and hacking back and forth. Fighting. Oh, by the way in fighting what about this scenario?

Two players in a minor hockey game in the NHL are in a fight, one gets knocked out and the refs don’t jump in. And the other person keeps pounding, pounding. I don’t know if that’s ever happened. There was some crazy things going on the 60s and 70s in the NHL mayhem. I think a lot of players will be charged with assault now. But under that scenario, I don’t think anyone’s consenting to be continued to punch when the referees getting after you, your unconscious. All you older hockey fans you’ll remember the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins that was that was madness going up into the stands and fighting fans and I love Tai Domi to when that guy fell down and squirted water on him when he fell in there. I wouldn’t’ want to mess with Tai Domi but all kidding aside I thought I’d have a little levity and fun with hockey. It’s a great sport but we you know you don’t consent to being intentionally hurt with a stick swing to the head, that’s the bottom line, isn’t it? There you have it, a little bit of a primer on the implied limits of consent and our beloved national sport.

Thank you for watching our video. We are absolutely committed to bringing you the best possible criminal and DUI educational videos. If you found this video helpful. Please like it and subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you’ve been charged with a criminal offense in Ontario and require our services, please click on the link in description below.