So, a burley hockey dad filled with happiness and glee, one Mr. Jason Boyd, starts mouthing off while watching his son play the Great Canadian Game at a local Winnipeg arena. For some reason he starts calling another kid on the ice a “midget,” apparently not impressed with his level of play. It would seem that he expects his own son to be playing with Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky as opposed to the little peons he is being forced to play with.
This proves to be a bit too much for the father of the kid being called a midget, one Mr. Chuck Kitson, who nobly speaks up in defence of his boy. Upon doing so, Mr. Boyd starts laying out the threats, specifically about caving in Kitson’s glasses. Now, remember, this is a game where 15-year-olds are playing. One- five…15! And, to make it that much better, our protagonist Mr. Boyd has a young toddler in his arms as he threatens to do some reconstruction work on Kitson’s eyewear. Brilliant!
Now, thanks to Mr. Boyd, Hockey Manitoba is looking at getting parents enrolling their children into hockey to take an online course called Respect in Sport. This is the same course that coaches and other hockey officials are required to take. It seems this behaviour has turned too many stomachs to go unnoticed, and there are people in the right places that want to see change.
And so it has come down to this. Parents having to take online courses to prevent them from being complete a-holes to other people freezing their butts off at the rink watching their kids play hockey? It’s a sad, sad development. Come on parents, let’s see some hustle! Start acting civil or you’re going into the penalty box! Your kids will be better off for it.