A New Voice for Professional Hockey

As the new kids on the block in the pugnacious National Hockey League, the Walt Disney Co.’s Mighty Ducks have responded in kind to barbs and flying fists that have come their way. In two exhibition games, the guys with the duck whistles have been penalized for fighting seven times.

Nobody expects the Ducks to let themselves be walked over in their inaugural season. But the brawling doesn’t square with the reputation of Disney as a provider of clean family entertainment, either.

Disney clearly is in a learning process with hockey. Chairman Michael Eisner said last week that hockey operations were being left to the hockey people. Fair enough. But even as he appeared to defend fighting under some circumstances, he made it clear that Disney didn’t want the game to become like professional wrestling. We agree.

Eisner was quite right to suggest also that Disney alone cannot control the prevailing culture of the game. However, the company is not without clout. The league enthusiastically welcomed its marketing skill. One thing Disney can do is remind others that hockey is a game with a grand tradition of skill and grace. It isn’t only about the Revenge of the Goon Squads.

Nor is the league powerless. Those five-minute penalties for fighting are puerile deterrents; what’s needed are meaningful suspensions and fines. Disney is sure to have a voice at the NHL table. It ought to use its leverage to prompt others to work on cleaning up the game. Hockey can and should offer real family entertainment.