Sometimes sports can be a reflection of our culture, good or bad, and unfortunately during the weekend, that reflection was rather ugly in two separate events.

During the Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins National Hockey League Eastern Conference Semifinal game on Saturday, referees penalized the Penguins’ Matt Cooke after a vicious hit on a Bruins’ player.

That prompted hockey fans to respond via the social media site Twitter. Some fans voiced their outrage for the hit, while others voiced their displeasure for the penalty. That’s the way sports goes, and there was not a problem with the debate.

Then, one fan took his outrage against the call too far and demonstrated a lack of respect, understanding and empathy in such an egregious way that he is suspended from Twitter.

The Pittsburgh Penguins fan tweeted that the NHL is a disgrace, that Cooke should not have been penalized and that he hoped Boston gets bombed again ”“ referring to the April 15 terrorist attacks that rocked the city and the nation during the Boston Marathon.

What an absurd comment to make, especially because he was upset over a hockey call. Those terrorist attacks killed three people ”“ including a child ”“ and made amputees of scores of other people. The attacks led to a manhunt that resulted in one of the bombing suspects’ deaths, and the dramatic capture of another one. During that manhunt process, a police officer died. It was all tragic and should never be wished upon any person, community, city or country for any reason, but especially over a sporting event.

For a fan of any sport to get so upset about a game and make a mockery out of a tragedy that impacted thousands of lives in a real way, is outrageous.

Sports are played and watched for fun. They should never be taken so seriously, and they should never be placed on the same level as real-life events.

Sporting events can be used to raise awareness of issues or to raise money for causes such as the Boston Marathon victims’ fund and so on, in addition for their entertainment value, but never should a person wish harm on anyone because of a sporting event. Luckily, many other people feel the same way, as Twitter suspended this person’s account. The man was even kicked out of the rock band in which he played, since his bandmates were also horrified by the remark.

The second incident was also on Saturday, when the Indiana Pacers’ Roy Hibbert used the phrase “no homo” in the middle of describing his pivotal play during the Pacers’ game against the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association’s Eastern Conference Finals.

At the time, Hibbert probably thought it wasn’t a big deal to use a phrase that many people have used  to describe their manliness and macho bravado. The problem is, there isn’t a place in our society to belittle a group of people for their sexual orientation. Hibbert has been described by many who know him as a nice guy, but unfortunately, he made a mistake that cannot be tolerated.

Thankfully, the NBA thought so, too, as it fined him $75,000 for the slur.

Hibbert apologized on Sunday and tweeted a apology to Jason Collins, who in April became the first professional male athlete to say that he is gay.

Sports can at times be a sordid microcosm for our world, but it’s good to see that we as a society are growing less tolerant of bigotry and ignorance.

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Today’s editorial was written by Sports Editor Al Edwards on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.