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Hit With a Stick
March 12, 2007







The New York Times is running a sports story about hockey entitled
"Isles' Simon Suspended Through Playoffs."

Last Thursday, March 8, New York Islanders' Chris Simon hit New
York Rangers' Ryan Hollweg in the face with his hockey stick.

According to the article, Colin Campbell, the N.H.L. senior vice president
said, "The National Hockey League will not accept the use of a stick in
the manner and fashion in which Mr. Simon used his Thursday night. As
a consequence of his actions, Mr. Simon has forfeited the privilege of
playing in an N.H.L. game again this season, regardless of how many
games the Islanders ultimately play.”

Read a Similar Article!!

Discussion-Starters for Younger Children

  • Do your students think that somebody should be allowed to play
    in the park again if he hits another child while playing in the park?
    Why/why not? What should be the punishment to a child who hits
    another child at the park?
  • Consider inviting students to work with you to develop a
    class consequence for fighting. Do they think your current
    classroom rule is fair? Why/why not?

  • Do your students think that games need rules? Why/why not?
  • Challenge students to think of any games that do not have
    rules. Would it be fun to play a game that did not have
    rules? Why/why not?

  • Ask your students how they would feel if they were playing a
    game and somebody else broke the rules. Why would they feel
    this way?
  • Would students want other people to feel this way? How
    could they avoid making other people feel this way?
    Consider asking students to write several short sentences
    explaining how one person should treat another.

  • Do your students think that people should ever be allowed to hit
    one another? Why/why not? What about in the sport of boxing?
    What about if somebody else hit them first?
  • Consider asking students what they could do if they get
    mad at somebody, other than hitting. Students could
    develop skits, in groups of three or four, in which they
    demonstrate how they could act when they get mad at
    somebody else, in a way that does not involve hitting.


Discussion-Starters for Older Students

  • Vocabulary terms to discuss: "Left Wing"; Forfeit; "Sustained a
    Concussion" and, Evident.

  • This newspaper article is about hockey. Why should anyone,
    especially people who don't enjoy the game, be interested in this
    story or any other sports story? Why should anybody read any
    story with which they do not have a personal interest?
  • Consider asking students to respond to these questions in a
    reflective essay. If students want to argue that it is not
    important to pay attention to these kinds of stories remind
    them to justify their opinions. Obviously, all students
    should justify their opinions.

  • According to the article, the New York Rangers' coach said, "And
    Chris (Simon), for me anyway, is a good man." Is it possible for
    somebody to be a good man and still hit somebody else in the
    head with a hockey stick? Why/why not?
  • Consider asking students to respond to this question in
    groups of two or three. Then reconvene the class and
    discuss what it means to be a "good person."

  • According to the article, the Nassau County New York district
    attorney is considering filing charges against Chris Simon. Do
    your students think the D.A. should do this for something that
    happened in a professional hockey rink? Why/why not?
  • Use this question as a prompt for a class trial. Students
    should write opinions and then defend them. The entire
    class can vote after each side has an opportunity to present
    their arguments.
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