A Deviant Pathway To Respectability: The Enforcer Career Path In Professional Ice Hockey From 1997–2012

ABSTRACT

Deviant behavior may be thought of as irrational and compulsive, as permissible only in areas devoid of social control, or as something that needs to be kept hidden from society at large. However, behavior that is labeled as deviant or problematic may offer an alternative and seemingly rational pathway to success within socially respected contexts. Here, a quantitative portrait of such a case is presented: the occurrence of fist-fighting within junior and professional hockey organizations. Analysis shows that fighting in hockey, while frowned upon and debated by many in the media and the public, has served as a pathway to success for less skilled players. While theories of masculinity, honor, and intergroup violence may explain why these fights occur at all, variance in this behavior between individuals is largely explained by an informal division of labor that occurs as less-skilled players seek a way into higher levels of professional hockey. Those who choose to fight more than others are largely responding to a set of incentives within the ecology of their sport, in line with other choice-centered models of deviant behavior. Deviance, paradoxically, offers an alternative but costly pathway to respectability.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ https://allenamericansblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/chlphpa-collective-bargaining-agreement.html

² https://artfulpuck.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/the-life-of-a-minor-league-hockey-player-dollars-sense/,

³ https://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26366

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Notes on contributors

Antonio D. Sirianni

Antonio D. Sirianni is a part-time adjunct professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georegtown University. He has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Cornell University, teaches quantitative methodology, and examines social networks, organizational behavior, and political polarization.