If you answered yes to the question in the title, it’s time to stop and think why, writes Urheilu’s Micke Suopuro.
Micke Suopuro Sports journalist
We were still guessing on Friday. Tarmo Reunanen there was a lot of confusion around the miraculous outing, from the jähy announcement to Luko’s communication, but there was one question at the top of my mind.
What did Tarmo Reunanen say?
The words came out on Saturday when Ilta-Sanomat reported on them. They did not directly surprise anyone who has ever played team sports.
Neither SM-liiga nor Lukko revealed the words, but the press release said that the target of the insult lived Juuso Mäenpää was not hurt by the shouting. Colleagues from other clubs were silent or reminded that worse has been heard.
A confusing flood of information and a one-match ban. And dozens of stories in different media.
Were Tarmo Reunanen’s words made too big a deal?
If you answered yes to the question, it’s a good moment to stop and think about why.
Why didn’t Reunanen’s words surprise you?
The reason is, as he has played hundreds of SM league matches in his career Top Nättinen In the ice hockey tour, he said, in culture. Reunanen took responsibility for his words, but he is equally a product and a product of that culture.
When a certain way of speaking is acceptable in one’s own community, it sneaks out at some point as well. Ice hockey is not the only example of this.
Along with Reunanen, the victims of the aging structures are also the hockey players who find it difficult to understand why this particular insult has become a halo.
When the bubble is as dense as it still is in many ways in hockey, it takes time to shake off your thoughts. Impulsivity often trumps judgment in the casino, whether you’re a professional or an amateur.
Exercising the subconscious mind is difficult, but completely possible. You can start the work, for example, by answering the question that Nättinen asked on the Jääkiekkokierros broadcast:
Do you have to hurt your opponent to win?
Nättinen’s answer was unequivocal: if you answer the question yes, you have misunderstood the sport.
That’s why the results of the SM league – ie a seemingly stark announcement of zero tolerance and a one-match ban – do not speak the same language.
A longer suspension would have at least forced a discussion within the teams and clubs. The seed of change is in the role models, because they are models for good and bad.
The short ban sends a clear message despite the eloquent phrases: try to control the shouting a little, but if there is an injury, you will lose one match. Boys will be boys and onward.
Reunanen hardly chose his words carefully with the intention to hurt. I wouldn’t be surprised if a familiar and safe pair of words just slipped out of my mouth in the heat of my emotions.
Still, it must be understood that the pair of words in question has always been a weapon loaded with a discriminatory attitude, an assumption of inequality. It offends, even if the object of the insult doesn’t care about the words.
The silent acceptance of words sometimes in the past mostly tells about the incomprehensible atmosphere at that time – not that suddenly today you shouldn’t say anything.
No one needs to travel in a time machine to change their statements, say, ten years ago. What matters is what you do in this moment, when you know better.
Reflecting on one’s actions and changing one’s behavior is growing as a person. Clinging to what used to be “allowed” to say is just regression.
From the point of view of ice hockey, there is reason to hope that Tarmo Reunanen’s words will have a sufficiently large number so that a genuine change in the culture could take place.
Unfortunately, this is hardly the case. Ice hockey, whose sports federation is still not ready to apologize to a junior player who experienced racist behavior in 2023, does not seem very eager to change.
Even Reunanen’s insult became an incident mainly because the hall first erroneously announced that the reason for the suspension was “racist behavior”. The decision-makers should outline the zero tolerance without gaps before the season, and not in a panic when the kura hits the fan.
I hope that the hockey community proves my preconceived notions wrong with their actions.
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