12/22/24
December 23, 2004
Bertuzzi pleads guilty. : It's official: as garfield posted last week, Todd Bertuzzi was offered a "conditional discharge" after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm for his attack on Steve Moore in a Canucks-Avs game last March. Bertuzzi gets sentenced to 80 hours of community service, and a year's probation, during which he can't play in any games against Moore (uh, Mr. Prosecutor, you haven't been reading the sports pages lately, have you?). And, of course, I expect he gets a big legal bill. What doesn't he get? Any jail time, or -- as long as he fulfills the extremely stringent requirements listed above -- any kind of a criminal record.
posted by lil_brown_bat to hockey at 06:32 AM - 7 comments
McSorley got McHammered while Bertuzzi got off Beasy! Wonder what would happen if I was to nail a person on the street like Bertuzzi did to Moore? I would be under the jail by now! DOUBLE STANDARDS SUCK!
posted by Big Hitter at 08:38 AM on December 23, 2004
>Wonder what would happen if I was to nail a person on the street like Bertuzzi did to Moore? You can't bodycheck someone into a shop window, even if they have something you want. You can't follow someone down the street and tug their arm with your umbrella to make them drop their grocery bags. A bare-knuckle fight outside a bar would get you more than a five minute jail term. There are different rules for professional sports and everyday life. I don't think you compare them.
posted by Philfromhavelock at 09:22 AM on December 23, 2004
Sure, there's a lot of fighting in hockey, but a bodycheck is one thing, a violent, intentional, assault is another. Bertuzzi says he's sorry and he's not a criminal. He said he wants to get reinstated to hockey. If it wants to repair its reputation, the NHL better take a long look at Bertuzzi and see if he's worth it to the league. If not, the court of public opinion may have something to say about Bertuzzi and the NHL.
posted by roberts at 11:23 AM on December 23, 2004
I'm hoping to get into a charity game with Bertuzzi, where I'll skate up behind him and hopefully break his fucking neck with a two-handed slash. Then I'll go to court and explain that using the precedent set by the Crown, I deserve some community service and a slap on the wrist. One more bit of comedy gold: Bertuzzi said in a press conference he "didn't play the game like that." You know, I've seen the footage quite a few times, and I'm pretty sure that was Todd in a hockey game skating up and assaulting Moore. Sorry, Todd, but you DO play the game like that.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:23 AM on December 26, 2004
I did 50 hours of community service for underage drinking when I was in high school, and no one was hurt (except my mom, who was "very, very dissapointed" in me). Bertuzzi only gets 80? I hope he has to vacuum the floors and clean the toilets at his local high school like I did, but somehow I doubt it.
posted by Samsonov14 at 02:25 PM on December 26, 2004
wfrazerjr, i think, and i think you know, Bertuzzi was trying to express that he habitually doesn't play the game like that. splitting hairs, yes, but so are you.
posted by garfield at 09:22 AM on December 27, 2004
*slaps wrist* I think Moore's civil suit was always the only place you'd see any serious punishment. The big difference between Bertuzzi and McSorley? About 40 goals a season.