As if we needed further proof that the NFL runs the world, the epic, fight-filled game between the NHL’s Boston Bruins and Dallas Stars last Thursday has largely been confined to the back pages of America’s sports sections, ceding the prime real estate to perpetuations of the loathsome Super Bowl “hype week.” Never mind that Bruins-Stars featured three fights in the first four seconds—an excessive number even by ice hockey standards. Did you hear that it’s cold in Dallas?
But my issue isn’t with the lack of coverage of the fracas. Rather, it’s with the Cowboys’ Stadium-sized elephant in the room, a conflict of interest that seems to have gone largely unnoticed. You see, the beneficiary, if you will, of Steve Ott’s fists happens to be none other than Gregory Campbell, the son of NHL dean of discipline Colin Campbell.
Campbell, of course, has no say in these players’ penalties, having recused himself on account of this obvious conflict. But the repercussions of Campbell having such jurisdiction over a league in which his son plays extend far beyond the walls of TD Garden.
In fact, the effects of the elder Campbell’s conflict of interest have already been felt. Last November, The Sports Network (TSN) reported that Campbell had referred to Bruins center Marc Savard as a “little fake artist” in an e-mail to NHL officiating director Stephen Walkom; this, and a number of other e-mails, became public record in a wrongful termination case filed by former referee Dean Warren. The connection? Warren had previously assessed a high-sticking penalty on Campbell’s son.
Think about this. What official isn’t now thinking twice about calling a penalty on Campbell, knowing that it could potentially cost him his job? And what skater isn’t altering his style of play as far as Campbell is concerned, fearful that the slightest contact will force his team to play short-handed?
This is a situation that, annoyingly enough, tends to repeat itself in sports. Back in my high school days, I wrote about a similar situation involving a local baseball team that had suspended multiple players for various off-field transgressions. Interestingly enough, the suspensions ended just as the team began the toughest part of its schedule; coincidentally, the school’s baseball coach also happened to be its discipline czar. Sounds like a textbook case of conflict of interest to me!
But it’s one thing for a high school team to have such a situation on its hands. There are thousands of high school baseball teams in the country. But there is only one NHL. Granted, the NHL does have an uncanny ability to find new ways to give itself a black eye in the public-relations realm, so it’s unsurprising that this situation has been allowed to continue with the League’s explicit blessing. But if the NHL is serious about expanding its popularity nationwide, rather than continuing its existence as an afterthought south of the 36o30’, this would be a good place to start.
So what can the NHL do? It’s simple: remove disciplinary matters from Campbell’s jurisdiction and reassign them to one of its other countless Vice Presidents. Even Campbell has admitted that his e-mail to Walkom was “inappropriate.” Don’t cut him loose entirely—Campbell is one of the most respected men in the game, and his contributions to the sport over the years are too great to simply ignore. But it is wholly inappropriate for him to have such a prominent role in the everyday operations of a league in which his son participates.
But enough about such trivial matters. I hear Christina Aguilera completely botched the national anthem on Sunday!
Cohen is a member of the class of 2010.
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