Sullivan speaks out on violence in sport following scary Ryan Shazier injury

As Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan took to the podium to answer questions from the media in advance of tonight’s game against the New York Rangers, it’s likely that he didn’t expect to field any questions about football. But, following last night’s scary spinal injury to Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker Ryan Shazier, it’s all anyone in the assembled media could think about.

In case you missed it, here’s the play in question:

Shazier was removed from field on a stretcher and was taken to hospital immediately, but it’s not known yet the extent of his injuries. 

When asked about the proliferation of violence and crossing the line in sports, Sullivan said, “I don’t think anyone has intent to hurt people and if they do that’s a flawed mindset. The intent is to play a hard game and use the physical element of the game to become a team that’s hard to play against.”

He went on to compare both hockey and football with each other saying, “But I think the nature of our sport, and football is similar, is that there is a physical element that is a fabric of the game. And players are always going to be challenged with what’s enough.”