Post#10 » by Billy » Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:21 pm
Personally, even though I know the players association would never agree to it, I wish that there was a way to penalize players like Bowen that have taken players out on purpose.
Basically my thought would be, if a player purposely tries to injure someone outside of the confines of what would normally be considered a flagarant IE: poking a leg under them when they shoot, trying to up end them purposely, or flat out throwing a punch and landing--that player should be suspended for the entire time said player is out because of that injury + a suspension for the act itself to be served on top of that.
Obviously there is a HUGE gray area that neither the league nor the players association would want in a big rule. If player A throws a punch and hits, but doesn't hurt player B, and player B lands a punch that sends player A into the next millennium, does player B get suspended for the length of time player A is out even though he didn't initiate the action? Obviously that has only happened once, but you never know.
To me though, I think more stiff penalties should be required for guys like Bowen that have a history. I think it's incredibly unfair for a guy to be able to get away with injuring a player and still being able to come back and play while the injured player is still trying to recover.
Maybe it's too much like an eye for an eye. But for repeat offenders I think it's the best way.