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THE PENALTY CLUB (Free Membership-Expensive Dues) |
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Why do certain players and certain teams seem to get more penalty calls against them than others? Maybe it is because they lack the skill necessary to play today’s game. Maybe they are undisciplined and or not very smart. Maybe certain players are a victim of their own demise. Possibly there are many factors that causes this special unwanted attention.
I have no actual proof for my theory; it is based on years of observation. I believe officials in the NHL, and every other sport for that matter, pay attention to box scores. Like fans do, they also look at past game recaps. A NHL ref can take a look at a newspaper or on the Internet and see exactly who received penalties in a given game. They can also tell what type of infractions were prevalent.
Now lets look at things in a different yet somewhat similar way. If you were a security guard at al local jewelry store, would you want to know info on past robberies in the same area? Would you also like a description of those who committed the same robberies? My answer to both would be yes. So following this line of thinking it seems logical for a referee to want as much info on potential rule violators as possible. Now it is also logical for the same security guard or referee to be on high alert if someone of a given description enters his view. Wouldn’t it to also be likely that those who committed a violation in the past be more likely than others to do it again? Once again the answer is yes.
I know that for the most part penalties are deserved. I also know that referees are human, and influenced by their past experiences. These influences can be from a history that they have with a player or team. They also can be influenced by what other refs tell them, or what they read about. It really is no different than anyone of us, our past experiences influence are future behavior.
Once a player finds himself in the “PENALTY CLUB” he is screwed. Once you have a membership it is very difficult to withdraw from this infamous group. Also no doubt once you’re a member you will get “special" attention. There may be times where this special focus hurts a player. An example of a Penalty Club member is the Hawks very own Jassen Cullimore. For probably more than one reason Cullimore has gotten at least one penalty against him each game this year, a perfect 8 for 8. I watched in person as he got a holding call in game 8. He saw that the ref was about 15 feet from him. It didn’t matter; somehow his stick got off the ice and his hand wound up on an opponents shoulder for about 3 seconds. More than enough time for the ref who was fixated on him to make the call. That is the curse that Penalty Club members have, that little bit of extra attention. A typical members profile can include the young and dumb, the old and slow, or those with many different characteristics. Although membership is free, once in the experience will be very costly. Anyone can join, but leaving is almost impossible.
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