Fighting in hockey should be allowed on all stages from the pros to the Olympic stage. 

Professional sports have a plethora of unique circumstances and nuance beyond actually being on the field, rink or on the court. 

In the National Football League, there is the drop kick, where a player can kick the ball through the uprights after dropping it on the turf. 

Major League Baseball has the intentional walk, where a manager can instruct the umpire to walk the current batter before the at-bat begins.

In the National Hockey League, fighting is allowed, although technically against the rules and has long been considered part of the game.  

This is the world of professional sports and when it comes to hockey, those rules change in the Olympic scene. 

In Olympic hockey, fighting is unacceptable and will lead to penalties by referees and further discipline, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation rulebook. 

Taking fighting out of hockey is ridiculous and players should be allowed to fight in all leagues. 

Of course, rules were broken recently with a rare fight between Canada’s Tom Wilson and France’s Pierre Crinon on Feb.15 in Milano Cortina. 

I honestly think the referees should have let them fight because what describes fighting for gold better than two guys scrapping on the ice?

Let’s take a look back at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, which was the international round robin-based tournament that took place instead of the NHL All-Star Game that year. 

The first match between the United States and Canada is the most memorable to me because of three fights breaking out in the first nine seconds of the game.

The fights showed the national pride the players held and was what the fans wanted to see. 

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and Olympic Committee should have known from that point on that fighting would attract more attention from fans, as it gives players a chance to get punched in the mouth for their country.  

After watching the gold medal game between the U.S and Canada on Sunday, I felt it had to be the most physical game of hockey I have watched this year. 

Seeing the bumps and scratches on players’ faces would leave viewers thinking that players got into a fight. 

If this were a traditional NHL game or even the 4 Nations Face-Off, the high stick that Team USA center Jack Hughes sustained would have led to an all-out brawl between the two countries. 

Hughes lost some “chicklets,” otherwise known as teeth, but continued to play and didn’t let lost teeth stop him from hitting the golden goal for the U.S. in overtime.          

Taking such a key element of the game away can make the sport boring.

You see both players get in each other’s faces, hoping they drop the gloves, only to be quickly disappointed when referees prevent the fight. 

Imagine if professional sports organizations decided to follow the IIHF and take away things that keep games interesting. 

I can see outrage from fans and teams if the NBA decided to get rid of travel violations and allow players to never dribble the ball again or remove out-of-bounds from play. 

Particular rules like this may not seem as big or important to fans, but once they are taken away, everyone starts to pay attention.    

Crinon was penalized by the French Ice Hockey Federation, which suspended him for the rest of the Olympics, according to NBC Olympics. 

France should be proud of Crinon for fighting because what screams patriotism more than fighting on the ice in that country’s colors?  

Fighting for your country is usually referenced in terms of military service, but the pride players carry while participating in the Olympic Games gives the same energy.  

Hockey is the one sport where players can get into a fight, serve a penalty and then go right back to playing, according to The Sporting News.

Both Wilson and Crinon received 25-minute penalties, but Wilson was cleared for the quarterfinal, according to the same source.  

Most people who watch hockey do not understand the context of why fighting takes place.

Fights do not happen randomly. Both players either verbally agree or signal their intent when they drop their gloves. 

Fighting is in the nature of hockey players because telling them not to fight is like telling a pitcher they are not allowed to throw a strike.

It makes zero sense. I say let them fight. 

Until the IIHF and Olympic committee decide to change it, hockey in the Olympics has me begging for the NHL break to be over.