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Cheating (which is what enforcers essentially do) should be rooted out in any sport. The whole "oh, it's part of the game" is a load of crap. Nowhere in the rules does it say that a team shall have a player who's purpose has nothing to do with advancing the puck but rather intimidating and/or injuring opponents. And the "oh that's pussy talk" is more BS.
Hockey is one of the most elegant and amazing sports around - when it is played honestly. The skill players are some of the most gifted in all of sport. The thugs are...thugs who happen to be able to skate.
I grew up far from Canada and wasn't born on an ice rink. But oddly enough I played a ton of hockey, albeit in the street (as a kid) and gyms (intramural college). Participating in sports with the sole intention of hurting someone else is lame. Everybody get worked up in the heat of the moment, but enforcers are a totally different thing.
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