AHL Perezhogin/Stafford Fairness in Punishment

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We, the undersigned, as fans not only of the American Hockey League, the National Hockey League, and the game of hockey itself, are outraged at the disparity in punishments for Garrett Stafford of the Cleveland Barons and Alexander Perezhogin of the Hamilton Bulldogs.

It is our feeling that unnecessary violence has no place in the game of hockey. However, when you consider that these two players committed ESSENTIALLY THE SAME ACTION, that being the swinging of a hockey stick at the others head, their suspensions should not be as disparate as they are.

Some may argue that the result, and potential result, of Perezhogin's actions were worse. Some may also argue that Stafford's actions were intentional and Perezhogin's were reactionary. These arguments cloud the true issue here. That issue is that both players swung sticks at each other's heads.

If Perezhogin is suspended for an entire season (80+ games) Stafford's penalty should be similar. If it is not made similar, the leagues and management involved in the decision will be making it clear that it is the results of an action, and not the action itself or the intent behind it, that will ultimately decide a decision. By this train of thought, should we teach our children that it is acceptable to hit other players in the head with sticks because the likelihood of serious injury is very low, and the league will primarily judge upon the result?

We urge you to either lessen Perezhogin's penalty significantly or to increase Stafford's penalty to a degree similar to Perezhogin's.

A league that does not pursue justice consistently, fairly, and judiciously does not deserve our time, our attendance, or our dollars.

Thank you for your time.

748 Signatures

  • Alex
  • Mooch
  • Kelsey Evans
  • Vincent Giroux
  • Chris Mundell
  • Stephen Green
    • Comments
    • unrealistic punishment
  • Steve Bennett
  • Dominic Gladu
  • Bill Hynes
    • Comments
    • Agree totally with the comments in the petition
  • Joao E. Tomas
    • Comments
    • The problem with Hockey is they let the ref's to much jugment.If all the stic work that was done to Alex had been called then this incident would not have happened.
  • Sebastien Gagnon
    • Comments
    • Perezhogin should have gotten 40 games and Stafford at least 12-15 games
  • Don Gasparic
    • Comments
    • the suspension is too severe and not fair
  • Wilbur Chan
  • Alexis Boulerice-Turcotte
  • All-Star
    • Comments
    • Based on the length of Perezhogin's suspention, Stafford should get at least 40 games...
  • Cassady Sniatowsky
    • Comments
    • The suspension was BS making an example of a young kid like that!
  • Dan Linn
    • Comments
    • You decision stinks! 85+ games, I'll never buy another AHL ticket again.
  • Peter D.
  • Marc-Philippe L'Abbe
    • Comments
    • A complete and utter joke of a suspension. Nice of you to make Perezhogin, a player with a CLEAN record everywhere he has played, a sacrificial lamb.
  • Daniel Bouchard
  • Alaa Mendili
  • Dan Kramer
    • Comments
    • Perezhogin has no prior history and is a clean player. It was in the heat of battle, and he simply responded to a very similar slash with a slash of his own. Should he be punished? No doubt. However, a full year is way too harsh and for him to be getting 70-something more games than Stafford for connecting instead of missing is rediculous.
  • Vincent Yeung
    • Comments
    • I totally agee with what is stated. Stafford should receive harsher punishment than Perezhogin
  • Fйlix-Antoine Comeau
  • Gord Janicijevic
    • Comments
    • My feeling is that the Perezhogin suspension is completely unfair
  • Lee Vernon
    • Comments
    • This is not setting the right kind of example!!
  • Simon Chantigny
  • Mathieu Landry
    • Comments
    • Perezhogin should get 35 games and Stafford 20
  • Michael Grimaldi
    • Comments
    • You punish the guy that was provoked, and let the guy who started it get away with practically nothing. Just plain sad. Perezhogin is a hockey player and while his actions should be punished, the suspension was far too severe.
  • Elnino Cote
  • Jalal Hachmeh
    • Comments
    • I do believe that Garett Stafford deserves at least 20 games suspension if Perezhogin got a one year ban
  • Behrouz Bayat
  • Guillaume Benoit
  • John Brittain
  • jean legendre
  • Renй Jeffrey
    • Comments
    • AHL is th worse league ever because of that!!
  • Greg
    • Comments
    • I am a Sharks fan, and think your treatment of Perezhogin was FAR too harsh. Terribly unfar.
  • charles cimetier
    • Comments
    • stafford should at least get 20-30 games
  • Olivier Racine
  • Ludovic Raynal
  • Martin Ricard
    • Comments
    • Suspension is a bit too long, and Stafford should be suspended.
  • Brian Marek
  • Stefano P
    • Comments
    • I agree with the author of this petition 100%
  • Jerome Gagnon
  • Sheldon Hope
    • Comments
    • Two young me made bad choices but only one is paying for it.
  • Alex Lemieux
    • Comments
    • Absolutely ridiculous. Although it was a terrible act, it wasn't premeditated and one year is way too much compared with previous infractions and Perezhogin's history. 25-30 games plus playoffs would have been sufficient in my opinion.
  • S. Steve Mera
    • Comments
    • the hypocrisy of this decision is beyond words.
  • Ted Terpselas
    • Comments
    • I go to many AHL games in Toronto and Hamilton. After seeing how you handled Perezhogin, Im not coming back to an AHL game ever again...Lets face it, its a lot easier to come down on an immigrant. Shame on you guys!
  • David Milito
  • Daniel Clarke
    • Comments
    • TOO HARSH