Doug Ford responds to the OHL's decision to ban hitting.

The Ontario Hockey League has made a decision that has sparked a ton of criticism, I suspect due at least in part to the fact that people all around the world are sick and tired of having their lives constrained by their governments.

On Friday Ontario Sports minister Lisa McLeoad announced that the league would ban hitting for its upcoming season as a result of the COVID-19 and the ban that has been placed on "deliberate and prolonged" contact during sporting events. One of the problems many fans have immediately called out has been the fact that players will be engaged in puck battles deep in their own end, on the opposing end of the ice, and along the boards at various times throughout the game. Perhaps the ruling is designed to keep all avoidable contact out of the game but given the way that hockey is played even with no contact it seems impossible that these players will be able to maintain a safe distance during the course of an entire game. 

To be honest I've actually been surprised at just how many people have protested against this decision from the OHL, but it may very well be that those collective complaints are actually being listened to. On Saturday Ontario premier Doug Ford published a statement that made it very clear that he was among the fans who wanted to see the game return to normal and as quickly as possible, and even indicated that he was already at work on a potential solution moving forward.

From Ford:

We are engaging with the Ontario Hockey League to create a safe return to play plan, which will need to be approved by health experts. To date no decisions have been made. I would like to see the OHL return as normal as possible with body checking.

I can certainly understand the desire to want to keep the young men participating in these activities safe but in this case the measure honestly seems to be the result of pointless bureaucracy that has invested no real thought into the idea before making a sweeping proclamation. The good news is that there may be a solution on the way.