The video below has been doing the rounds and no-one comes out looking good.
Shanel Harrison was so in the wrong here, no argument from this corner. She was clearly angered by a hard screen up the other end that, upon close inspection of the video, looks like it could have been a body check. My initial reaction when I saw the video was that it was a deliberate body check but having re-watched a bunch of times, I honestly think it’s a badly set screen.
Either way, there was no call for her to flat-out cold cock her opponent. That’s nasty. That earns a suspension and a fine…but it really shouldn’t have cost Harrison her job. Taplonen Honka issued a statement confirming her dismissal as a result of this action. If it’s just for this, and pardon my lack of knowledge of the former La Salle player’s behaviour in the Finnish league this year, then dismissal is a massive over-reaction. Yes it was dirty but there has to be room to punish action that falls short of completely removing any potential for penance. Harrison deserves to get the book thrown at her but it was an emotional reaction in the heat of the moment. That gets you the bench for a couple of weeks, it shouldn’t get you the door.
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