While the details behind the incident outside the Oxford Arena have not fully come to light, one thing is for certain. This should not happen.
The brawl that erupted following Saturday's Midget AAA hockey game between Cumberland County and Brookfield was both disturbing and embarrassing, but, worst of all, it was unnecessary,
Yes, these two teams had animosity towards each other. A few players were ejected from the game after on-ice fights, and that is where it should have ended. How and why it spilled over into the parking lot after the game is mystifying, considering the number of parents and other responsible adults who must have been on hand to be calming influence on the youths.
Yes, these players may be the size of adults, but they have not matured enough to be expected to behave like adults. And things can escalate pretty quickly, when emotions and testosterone are running high.
But, if the animosity between the two teams was known, as Cumberland Minor Hockey Association president Gary Copeland confirmed this week, then why were the players from one team not kept in the dressing room until it was known that the other team had vacated the premises?
These two teams should not have been given the opportunity to meet up with each other in the parking lot.
With NDP Members of Parliament Glenn Thibeault and Thomas Mulcair already calling for a royal commission into violence in sports (we can't wait to hear Don Cherry's thoughts on that Saturday night,) and the 2010 Olympics just around the corner in Vancouver, it is these types of back eyes that minor hockey does not need.
