By Dylan Murphy
Staff Writer
Memories of my own experiences as a young hockey player flooded my thoughts.
Last week when Thomas Junta was sentenced to between 6-10 years in prison for beating a fellow hockey dad to death on the ice while young children looked on, I couldn’t help but remember scenes from my past.
I was just 11 and playing center for the Red Wings, one of the many youth hockey teams that competed in my hometown of Long Beach, N.Y. Though most of my memories from that season were of success and enjoyment, a different one came to mind as I pondered Junta’s situation.
It was the third period, and my Pee-Wee hockey team was down one goal. I looked at my opponents, most who sat in their desks around me during the day, with fire in my eyes. The puck dropped and play began.
Suddenly, there was screaming in the crowd, and, one by one, our attention was torn from the action on the ice.
All eyes were focused on two fighting parents.
Though they never went as far as Junta did, this was a common occurrence in my small hockey town. Parents would argue while their children, my friends and teammates, would cry and whine until the senseless bickering would stop.
But what if their crying didn’t stop the argument? I remember wondering just how far would parents go at a child’s sporting event.
This question was answered in the Junta case.
The argument started with a man stating his concern for his son’s safety on the ice. One thing led to another, and in the midst of the drama of Pee-Wee hockey, a father of four lay dead on the ice.
While many are concerned about a child’s safety during sports events, who would fear the threat of violence among participating parents?
Though no parents were beaten to death in my Pee-Wee hockey league, the fights were often very painful. The embarrassment of watching a friend’s parent, and even more embarrassing, your own parents, fight over a game is a stressful event both mentally and physically.
As is often the case, the innocent are the only ones hurt. This proved to be true for the children related to the “Hockey Dad” murder.
Junta’s sentence was doubled because there were children present at the time of the murder, standing just a few feet away as Michael Costin had the life beaten out of him.
And while some have argued that this sentence is too harsh, as a former young hockey player, I believe just the opposite.
Maybe next time instead of doubling the sentence, they should multiply it by the number of kids who are going to need therapy because they saw their friend’s own parent being beaten to death.
How do we so easily forget how fragile life is, and how traumatic events such as these can be for a young child? These are scars that can’t be healed over a few months, but more like a few years.
Does it take more than the recent terrorist activities to show how precious life and family are?
The thing I’ve learned from this event, as well as my own experience, is that in many instances children show far more intelligence than their parents. Also, there’s something seriously wrong with a society in which there is murder at a child’s sporting event.
The next time someone is enraged enough to want to kill, he should remember what might happen when we thoughtlessly permit our emotions to run wild.
He should think of Thomas Junta and Michael Costin, and of all the innocent children scarred by that event.
Youth sports can be the some of the best memories of childhood. I know they were for me. Let’s not take that chance away from them.
January 31, 2002