This sounds a lot like the discussion on cursing - adrenalin sport, self-control, better reffing, etc, etc. So, my feelings on this are pretty simple: if the action (cursing, overshooting, whatever) starts resulting in penalties, the occurance will be reduced because it hurts the entire team.
At HB teams were warned about language in the captains meeting and again on the field. Did players curse? Yes. Did they do it as much as other events? No. (by cursing, I'm talking about the "get the f*** out"-type stuff)
To use TJ's example, if Ben Johnson tested positive for drugs and the IOC didn't strip him of his medal, it sends a message to other athletes: go ahead and use drugs, you won't be penalized. by stripping him of his medal, they sent the message: if you get caught using drugs, you'll lose what you worked for.
I think the same theory holds for mugging/overshooting. If the refs start penalizing it, players will be more aware of it and use more self-control.
Example: Team A has one player left. Team B has two players. A player from team B bunkers the last A player with 6 shots to the head. The ref pulls a 1-for-1 for unsportsmanlike/overshooting. The last B player is pulled and team A wins with an automatic hang. How many times would this have to occur before teams get the message that overshooting can be bad for your team?
Tournament bans, league bans... those might happen down the road but it has to start at the field ref level. If it's not called on the field, it's very tough to penalize it afterwards.
