Criminal Liability for Violence in Professional Sports: When Does Violence Become Unlawful?

Violence in Professional Sport

Something that we have seen more of in recent years In: Ice Hockey (most common) Football Basketball Baseball How do we figure out what actions are just a part of the sport and within the bounds of the game, as opposed to those actions that could be criminal acts of violence masked by the sport itself?

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Luke Bolanos

THE ISSUE

Two Sides:
1)

Those who think the violent actions of professional athletes on the field, court, or ice should never be scrutinized for legal liability
Those who believe certain violent actions by professional athletes during games should be under strict criticism and legal implications should result
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2)

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Violence in Professional Sport

If there is legal liability Where do we draw the line? Which violent actions are considered a part of the game and which ones are not?
Is

it when the violent actions take place after play has stopped? Is it when somebody becomes severely injured?
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LEGAL TERMS

Intentional Torts

Battery: Physical act/contact with another Intentional Harmful/offensive Unprivileged/unwelcome Assault: Act intended to cause fear Legitimate ability Self-Defense: Right to use reasonable force to protect yourself, only when there is imminent danger (usually against battery and assault)
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CASES

Regina vs. Green, 1970 Regina vs. Maki, 1970

1st criminal prosecution of professional athletes Both criminally charged Both were acquitted on self-defense in separate prosecutions Found Maki to have impliedly consented to being struck by Green because the conduct was commonplace within professional hockey Ciccarelli pleaded self-defense Convicted of assault Served 1-day jail sentence and fined $1,000 1st ever jail sentence ever imposed on a professional athlete for an in-game incident
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Richardson vs. Ciccarelli, 1988

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CASES

Regina vs. McSorley, 2000

Charged and found guilty by the Canadian court of assault with a weapon Reasoning: McSorley either deliberately struck Brashear on the head without Brashears consent or he was reckless in aiming for Brashears shoulder and ignoring the risk of hitting his Brashears head Conditional discharge given to McSorley

Moore vs. Bertuzzi, 2006

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Suspended for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs Pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm Sentenced to one year of probation and 80 hrs. of community service Still an ongoing case with Steve Moores $38 million lawsuit
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CASES

Nathans v. Offerman et al, 2009

Ejected from game after brawl and arrested on two counts of second degree assault Offerman was suspended from the league indefinitely and never allowed to play for the Ducks again Nathans suffered a severe head injury, ending his career Matt Beech suffered a broken finger to his non-throwing hand Offerman was found to be negligent but not guilty of assault or battery Nathans was awarded punitive damages Judge only found Offerman to be negligent because he did not intentionally swing the bat at Nathans during the brawl
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POSSIBLE CASES

The New Orleans Saints Bounty Scandal

From 2009 to 2011 the team paid bonuses to players who injured key players from opposing teams by making violent hits

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Luke Bolanos

MY OPINION

Law must be brought into particular cases and incidents where professional athletes over step their boundaries of acting out in violent rage No on-field, on-court, and on-ice actions should be acceptable that are not acceptable in daily life in society If punching a man on the street is not acceptable behavior than neither should be punching an opponent on the field , on the ice, or on the court during a game be acceptable Just because a violent action by a professional athlete takes place within the bounds of the game it should not be a free pass to commit a criminal crime without legal penalty
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Questions

What do you think, is the violence acceptable because its within the bounds of the game?

Do you think professional athletes should be held accountable for their violent actions by facing criminal charges?
What could professional sport organizations like the NHL, NBA, MLB, and NFL do to control the violent actions of athletes within their sport?
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References
Associated Press. (1988, August 25). The Ciccarelli Cited for Assault. New York Times.

ESPN.com News LA. (2012, April 25). Metta World Peace suspended for 7. EL SEGUNDO, California, United States.
Gulotta Jr., S. J. (1980). Torts in Sports--Deterring Violence in Professional. Fordham Law Review, Volume 49, Issue 5, 770-771.

Ham, E. L. (2012, March 8). Give the Ref a Gavel. The New York Times, p. A31. Nathans v. Offerman et al, 3:2009cv00256 (Connecticut District Court February 12, 2009).
Regina vs. McSorley, No. 111174-1 (British Columbia Provincial Court October 06, 2000).

Spengler, J. O., & Hronek, B. B. (2011). Legal Liability in Recreation, Sports, and Tourism. Urbana, Illinois, United States: Sagamore Publishing.
The Canadian Press. (2014, March 8). Steve Moore-Todd Bertuzzi case hits 10 years without resolution. Canada.
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