Why is there fighting in hockey?

Warning: The video contained in this post contains unnecessary, pointless, and gratuitous violence. I usually would not show such a video, but it helps make a point. Parents, please take this into consideration before allowing any young person to read this post or view the video within.

I need help understanding a certain sports concept. Why is there fighting in professional hockey? Jay Beagle of the Washington Capitals and Arron Asham of the Pittsburgh Penguins fought during the third period of last night's game between the two teams. As you can see in the video, Asham got the better of Beagle (email subscribers click here). Hockey analysts have said that Asham was sending a message because of something Beagle did earlier. What?! So, revenge is OK in sports. I'm trying hard to understand this.

None of the other team sports tolerate this level of violence as being part of the game. Baseball and football players would be suspended on sight. Basketball openly dares its players to throw a punch. Why does hockey treat fighting as if it's a scoring play? Other players get out of the way. The refs move and let the fight happen. Then, the winning fighter takes his seat in the penalty box and the trainers come and clean up the mess. Hello, McFly! Kids are watching this sport - on TV and in the arena. They saw Beagle get his teeth knocked out and leave a bloody trail on the ice.

We spin ourselves into butter worrying about the messages professional athletes send to our kids. Punching someone in the face until their teeth fall out sends a pretty clear message. When the next rash of youth hockey fight video finds its way onto YouTube, we'll ask the same questions. What's wrong with kids today? Why are they acting like this? In this case, we have no one to blame but ourselves. By the way, the Capitals won the game. Until next time...

Be a Good Sport!

-Sol