Justices: Violence is a part of some sports

SPRINGFIELD -- Hockey is an inherently violent sport and just because there are penalties and injuries, that doesn't mean players can sue each other, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Friday.

In a unanimous decision, the justices said the law has long recognized the dangers of contact sports. In this case, the justices said a player would have to deliberately injure an opponent or engage in conduct no one would ever expect before there would be a case to pursue.

The ruling involves a lawsuit filed against two Naperville Central Redhawks players, their coaches, the hockey associations and amateur league.

Robert Karas' then-16-year-old son suffered a fractured neck and other injuries when checked into the boards by the Naperville skaters during a 2004 game. Though he wasn't paralyzed, Karas' son still has related head and neck problems.

Karas, of Barrington, sued, saying his son was injured by the other players' "willful" and negligent conduct. The complaint also originally included a "civil conspiracy" between the hockey and officials associations for not enforcing the checking rules properly.

The Karas family could not be reached for comment Friday.

A DuPage County judge had previously dismissed the case, but it was reinstated on appeal, which then led to an appeal before the state's highest court.

After five months of deliberation, the state Supreme Court ruled that it had not been proven that Karas' son was deliberately targeted. The court said rules violations are considered an unavoidable aspect of playing a contact sport. Letting Karas' case go forward would forever change contact sports, the justices said.

"If liability could be established every time a body check or tackle resulted in injury -- because that conduct demonstrates a conscious disregard for the safety of the opposing player -- the games of ice hockey and football as we know them would not be played," Justice Anne Burke said in authoring the opinion.

Matt Jacobson, an attorney representing the hockey associations, said his clients were pleased with the justices' reasoning.

Although the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Karas' lawsuit should have been dismissed, the justices didn't rule out the possibility he might have a case. They sent the case back to give him the opportunity to show the incident was so deliberate and egregious that it went beyond anything that should be expected at even a hockey game.