Do you think he should be given a chance to plea bargain? Should what happen on the ice stay on the ice? Should the civil authoritities have the right to charge him?
From cp24.com
Crime & Punishment
In hockey, when a referee makes a call, there's no room for argument. But in the game of life, the rules are different.
Which may explain the reported plea bargain Canucks' tough guy Todd Bertuzzi is expected to enter in a Vancouver courtroom Wednesday.
The 29-year-old was suspended by the N.H.L. indefinitely, after a vicious hit from behind on Colorado's Steve Moore last March. The Avalanche forward suffered a concussion, lapses of memory, facial injuries and more, after Bertuzzi sucker punched him from behind, then landed on top of him as both fell to the ice.
The league punished the Canuck star, but it was the legal system that threatened to do the most damage.
Bertuzzi was charged with assault causing bodily harm. And now it appears he's ready to plea bargain his way to a conditional discharge, with no criminal record.
That's outraged Moore and his supporters, who argue they didn't receive notice of the potential deal, and can't be there to argue against it.
Bertuzzi's open-ended suspension doesn't carry much weight with the lockout on. But the rules don't prevent him from going to Europe to join some of his idled colleagues playing exhibition games for other teams.
The plea means his January 17th court appearance, which could have put hockey violence on trial, won't happen.
But it's not clear what form the deal will take. Any admission of guilt could leave him open to an expensive civil suit from the family of the injured man.
In the meantime, an angered Moore is still trying to recover from his injuries. Doctors say there's a chance he may never play hockey again.
From cp24.com
Crime & Punishment
In hockey, when a referee makes a call, there's no room for argument. But in the game of life, the rules are different.
Which may explain the reported plea bargain Canucks' tough guy Todd Bertuzzi is expected to enter in a Vancouver courtroom Wednesday.
The 29-year-old was suspended by the N.H.L. indefinitely, after a vicious hit from behind on Colorado's Steve Moore last March. The Avalanche forward suffered a concussion, lapses of memory, facial injuries and more, after Bertuzzi sucker punched him from behind, then landed on top of him as both fell to the ice.
The league punished the Canuck star, but it was the legal system that threatened to do the most damage.
Bertuzzi was charged with assault causing bodily harm. And now it appears he's ready to plea bargain his way to a conditional discharge, with no criminal record.
That's outraged Moore and his supporters, who argue they didn't receive notice of the potential deal, and can't be there to argue against it.
Bertuzzi's open-ended suspension doesn't carry much weight with the lockout on. But the rules don't prevent him from going to Europe to join some of his idled colleagues playing exhibition games for other teams.
The plea means his January 17th court appearance, which could have put hockey violence on trial, won't happen.
But it's not clear what form the deal will take. Any admission of guilt could leave him open to an expensive civil suit from the family of the injured man.
In the meantime, an angered Moore is still trying to recover from his injuries. Doctors say there's a chance he may never play hockey again.
It was intentional, and it was meant to cause bodily harm. I have no doubt that Bertuzzi didn't mean to break Steve's neck, but he did. I absolutely think that charges should have been filed against him for that hit. Being on a playing field/ice doesn't make your actions immune from the real world. And if he weren't a high profile hockey player, he wouldn't even have the chance at this type of plea bargain.
OK, really from Steve Moore's side of things:
