Ethics Newsline®

VANCOUVER
Vancouver Canucks hockey player Todd Bertuzzi was charged last week with criminal assault for his brutal mid-game hit on the Colorado Avalanche’s Steve Moore, whose neck was broken and career possibly ended.

The assault, widely believed to be pay-back for an in-game check Moore put on one of Bertuzzi’s teammates several games earlier, was witnessed by more than 18,000 people attending the March 8 game.

In the third period, Bertuzzi grabbed Moore from behind, hit him in the side of the face, and then landed on him as he collapsed. Moore, who lay unconscious on the ice, suffered three fractured vertebrae, facial cuts, a concussion, and amnesia, reported the Associated Press.

Bertuzzi, who apologized for the attack, was suspended indefinitely by the National Hockey League (NHL), benched for the rest of the Canucks’ season, and forfeited more than $500,000 of his $6.8-million salary.

The NHL, which said it had taken “stern and swift” action that was right “for the players and the sport as a whole,” had hoped its actions would keep the Bertuzzi incident from becoming a criminal matter.

Last week, the Ministry of the Attorney General said more action was warranted, announcing the criminal charges. Bertuzzi has a court date of July 9, noted the Canadian Press.

If tried and convicted in British Columbia’s Supreme Court, Bertuzzi would face the steepest penalty of up to 10 years in prison, according to the AP.