Recently, a fight broke out during the last few minutes of a WNBA game.

I watched the highlights (or lowlights) the next day.

I listened to all the reporters speculate about how the fight might change the perception of women’s game in the general public.

And I immediately thought about how a similar fight would be perceived (and received) if it happened during an elite women’s hockey game.

I can imagine the general public being equally (if not more) shocked and fascinated by watching women “drop the gloves” than they are when the men fight.

I guarantee you that thousands of people across North America would be checking out the footage on TV and the internet.

Would such a violent display of aggression and anger turn people off from our sport or bring more fans to the rink?

We like to think we are taking the moral high road by banning fighting from our sport and believe that our game is more “pure” as a result.

But given the tremendous amount of media coverage that the women’s basketball brawl received, a similar incident might actually help the sport of female hockey gain more visibility.

Would this be a case of “all press being good press”, even though it shows a negative (and extremely rare) aspect of our sport?

I am by no means condoning fighting in the women’s game, but it would be fascinating to see what the public’s response would be to watching a fight break out between some of the best female hockey players in the world.

In any event, this is an issue that I am definitely keeping my gloves on for.

Until next time,

Kim