Spot which professional athlete received a harsher penalty: A) An MLB pitcher pounds his chest and screams obscenities at an opposing batter after striking him out, inciting a benches clearing kerfuffle that ends without a punch being thrown or any ejections.
B) An NHL winger slams an opposing player’s face into the ice next to the crease by pushing his stick down onto the back of the player’s neck, punching him in the face while pinned under the stick. Then, after he’s pried off the first guy, he body slams that opponent’s teammate into the ice, face-first, punching him while he’s down, then repeating the act when the opponent tries to get up.
It all looks worse when it’s typed out like that, right?
Interrupt the Jeopardy! music to note that the pitcher does have a history of this type of behavior, but as far as repeat offenders go, he’s amateur hour compared to the hockey player.
Sorry to say, but if you guessed the hockey player, you’re way off. Like capital punishment -- no pun intended -- compared to a finger wag.
Of course, that hockey player is the Capitals' Tom Wilson, and the baseball player is the Reds' Amir Garrett. Wilson has developed a reputation as the dirtiest player in the NHL, with much of that happening against the Penguins. And Garrett, well, what Pirates’ fan doesn’t know about Garrett?
(Head’s up, there’s some seven-game-suspension-worthy language in the following video.)
1. The Reds and Pirates brawl, the buildup, a breakdown.
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) July 31, 2019
Full Vid: https://t.co/ropXKTaIHc pic.twitter.com/4QuDhLjuXB
The NHL handed Wilson a $5,000 fine, the maximum allowable figure under the current CBA, for his manhandling of the Rangers’ Pavel Buchnevich and Artemi Panarin on Monday night in the same arena in which Garrett played many of his college basketball games for St. John’s.
Garrett’s incident involving Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and the Cubs on Saturday afternoon garnered a seven-game suspension and fine for an undisclosed amount that was levied on Monday.
Garrett is appealing the suspension while the Rangers have called for the firing of NHL head of player safety and former NHL brawler, George Parros, saying he’s, “unfit to continue in his current role.”
There are players throughout sports that come to mind when anybody in any league acts out the way Wilson did Monday night. The Bengals’ Vontaze Burfict should be among the first on that list -- especially in Pittsburgh.
But even when dealing with a player that has that type of reputation, there’s rarely much consistency in the penalties within the leagues themselves. Looking at the events from sport to sport, it shouldn’t inspire much confidence that there’s any rhyme or reason to the universe.
YOUR TURN: What do you think of the suspensions of Wilson and Garrett? Does it change your perspective to compare the incidents and their ensuing punishments?
