Fans came to mourn Adam Johnson but amid the flowers and tears were fears and defiance

For the past couple of weeks, the Nottingham Panthers, a tiny club with a backroom staff and a playing budget that would stretch the salary of a top NHL player for two weeks, have been the talk of sports news headlines worldwide.

There has been close examination of the team, the league, and the sport itself. Although it is recommended by the International Ice Hockey Federation, players over the age of 18 are not required to wear neck protectors. It was stated clearly in the coroner’s preliminary report “that deaths may occur in the future if neck guards or protectors are not worn.”

The flowers, many of which have handwritten notes attached and are wrapped in paper or cellophane, have been proliferating outside the National Ice Centre like pools of water. The pile became so large that the Panthers installed guardrails and assigned a steward to keep an eye on it. Bouches continued to arrive last Saturday in a steady trickle, with fresh blooms atop older ones.

In the initial week following Adam Johnson’s death from being struck by a skate during a match, nobody seemed to know exactly who to blame or what to say or do. Nothing in the rulebook or league regulations indicated that there was a precedent. Twelve days later, the Panthers declared that three weeks to the day following the accident, on Saturday, November 18, they would play a memorial game against the Manchester Storm.

In the arena, there was a mixture of grief, bewilderment, rage and dismay, pride and defiance, and bittersweet atmosphere. Pundits have spent countless hours dissecting the incident, but it is still unclear how anyone can truly determine what transpired during those few seconds.

In conclusion, despite the lack of precedent or regulations in the sport, the Nottingham Panthers have come under heavy criticism for their choice to play a memorial game against the Manchester Storm.