Ex-NHL referee openly admits that certain NHL players receive preferential treatment from officials
Tim Peel is already a pretty controversial figure in hockey after his infamous "hot mic" incident that resulted in his dismissal from the NHL. Now, he has made some new comments that are sure to ruffle some feathers in the NHL front office, as he has confirmed that referees do, in fact, give preferential treatment.
During an interview with former NHLer Jeremy Roenick this week, Peel very openly stated that NHL officials don't assess penalties the way they should, as defined by the rule book. Instead, they try to go easy on star players who commit infractions, Peel confirmed.
"Did I give Sid Crosby some breaks over the years? Did I give Alexander Ovechkin? Did I give the superstars? Absolutely, because � guess what? � that's what the 18,000 fans are there to see. They're there to see him, not some fourth-line plugger."
Peel did concede that some things have to called, no matter who the perpetrator or victim of the infraction happened to be, so clearly there are limits to how much referees are willing to overlook.
"[For a cross-check to the head], the refs have to call it. The refs are gonna call it. I don't think Hockey Ops says, 'Well, Buffalo's not very good .We shouldn't suspend the other player because they've got a good team and Buffalo's not very good.' I disagree with that."
It's bush league stuff like this that gets under the skin of the fans. Why bother having a rule book if you're not going to call it? Sidney Crosby is an excellent player, but should he be held to a different standard than is outlined in the rule book just because he has 3 Stanley Cups and sells a lot of jerseys? What kind of message does that send?
It's still like this that is a huge part of the reason why the NHL is the lowest ranked among the 4 major sporting leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL). Until the league's front office wants to get serious and actually do something about biased officiating, this league isn't going to gain any headway on its counterparts.
| POLL | ||
Should star players get preferential treatment from officials? | ||
| Yes, the game needs them | 13 | 8.4 % |
| No, a penalty should be a penalty regardless | 114 | 74 % |
| There's a lot of grey area there... | 27 | 17.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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