I attended a Maineiacs hockey game Dec. 14 against Acadie-Bathurst with an 8th-grader whom I mentor and was appalled by the three bloodthirsty, gloves-off fights, which practically consumed the first period. I’m trying to help him kick the habit of getting into fistfights before it lands him in the juvenile justice system, but it doesn’t help when an important institution in the community models impulsive violence.

I am well aware that fighting is an accepted part of Canadian and American hockey culture, but it isn’t in Europe and it shouldn’t be in Lewiston.

If the Maineiacs are going to play here and receive public support, they should respect the values of this community, where unbridled violence against one’s peers is not acceptable.

If they want to sell tickets, they should wake up to the fact that most parents don’t want to take their kids to see a brawl.

Certain players should grow up and think about the impact their actions have on the droves of young boys who attend Maineiacs games and look up to them as heroes.

Nathan Harrington, Lewiston

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