It is the duty of parents watching from the sidelines of any game to complain when unnecessary force is used which is not associated with the focus of the play, but it is the coaches and those officiating the games who should be admonished for the “bully” practices. Brutal checks on one end of the ice while the puck is at the other should call for a suspension along with the penalty. Feuds on the field that escalate into forceful unsportsmanlike contact only fuel the brutality if officials do not take appropriate action.

In football, we all like a good, solid, fair tackle or a block that sends the would-be tackler flying out of the play, but we all hate those cheap-shot tackles on quarterbacks or defensive backs by some players.

Why should we teach our children to take off the gloves and slug others on the ice, or chop-block others to win at any cost? When coaches and officials don’t do their job, and parents have to step in for safety in an irate manner, nothing is solved to make the situation better.

Perhaps if someone really loved their sport, they would demand an end to the headhunting that ends the careers of so many promising individuals and athletes.

Larry W. Mayes, Lewiston