Tag: enforcers

Tough Guy Traded by Traitors

Posted on by Shelly Strebel in For Real Though, Sports Takes
Read Time: 2:09

You need to listen to this John Scott interview that Jim Rome did. “Who is John Scott?” you ask. (And if you did ask, then you definitely need to listen to this interview.) John Scott is an ice hockey player who recently got traded down, despite having been named the MVP of the NHL All-Star game this past January.

Now, hold on: I’m about to make you care. Because this isn’t just about some athlete getting demoted; this is a human interest story wrapped up in a 270-pound piece of Canadian bacon. It’s about how hockey enforcers have left the endangered species list, and are headed toward extinction.

Yep, death.

John Scott is an enforcer, a professional tough guy. He’s a fighter, a goon. He’s the old-school type of rough-and-ready that the NHL has long been known for, and his fans love him. But the NHL’s apparent recent phasing-out of enforcers–not to mention capricious handling of the league’s discipline overall–has led to reports that the NHL’s “Department of Player safety has been brutally inconsistent.” (This headline, duly noted, is from the sports news outlet which now has fat girls in swimsuits on its cover. So, inconsistency…it’s a thing.)

But here’s what the NHL is not talking about; here’s an idea for another sports special that ESPN won’t ever make:

Enforcers like John Scott are disappearing from the NHL–and from this planet–faster than the ice caps. Back in 2010, Bob Probert drops dead after taking 8 Oxy Contin per day at the time of his death. The following summer, Rick Rypien kills himself. Two weeks after that, Wade Belak hangs himself. Somewhere in there, the Boogeyman overdoses on painkillers and alcohol. The common denominator  between these guys is that they’re all hockey players known as enforcers, just like John Scott.

Why should you care? Because it’s a men’s health issue that speaks loudly to the pitfalls of being a modern athlete. And because the NHL, especially regarding its enforcers, is acting like a bag of dicks, reminding us of the unnecessary assholery of billionaires and bad bosses. Team owners and league higher-ups need to know that the fans are watching, and that we want better for our athletes.

Who the hell is looking out for these men, if not the leagues that buy and sell them? Philanthropy wives can only do so much. I mean, really.