Comment: Not really fair for everybody to be piling on Getzlaf - he's hardly alone.

The entire sport, right down through minor hockey, has allowed players and coaches to heap abuse and profanity on officials for decades, without ever being penalized. Referees who do penalize disgusting behaviour are disciplined for being "officious", and not given good games because they "have a thin skin". Hockey players, of all ages, regularly get away with things that, in any other sport, would result in immediate ejections, suspensions, and fines. It, like many other unsavoury things, has just become an expected part of the sport's culture.

Bottom line:  don't be mad at Getzlaf for doing what he's been allowed to do his entire career - right back to his days playing midget and bantam.