NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said it was “unnecessary” for the NHL to suspend without pay four players accused of criminal sexual assault.
The charges are related to allegations of mass sexual assault by players who represented Canada on the 2018 World Junior team and went on to play in the NHL. Police allege the incident happened on June 19, 2018, in the player’s hotel room after a Hockey Canada Foundation gala and golf event.
Bettman said in a press conference Friday that the NHL players allegedly involved are all currently away from their teams and are free agents. He said there was no need to suspend them because their contracts are set to expire after the season.
“I don’t think there’s a need for that at this point,” Bettman said. “As I have said many times, this is a fairly complex issue.
“I’m happy with the fact that they’re not playing away from the team. They’re being paid the majority of their salaries for the year anyway.”
Bettman confirmed that the players accused of crimes are currently receiving paychecks.
He said NHL teams “need to be able to prove certain things” to “successfully terminate” the contract.
In response to a question about whether the NHL could suspend or withhold pay from the four players who were recently accused of sexual assault, league commissioner Gary Bettman said that they would be allowed to leave the team. , stated that he is already “happy” with the fact that he is not currently playing.
New Jersey Devils player Michael McLeod has been charged with sexual assault and being a party to a crime, according to court documents. His teammate Cal Foote was also charged with sexual assault.
The Devils re-signed McLeod and Foote to one-year deals worth a combined $2.2 million last summer.
Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames and former Ottawa Senators Alex Formenton, who now plays in Switzerland, were also charged, according to court documents.
The players’ lawyers said they deny wrongdoing and will plead not guilty.
Last month, the five players allegedly involved in the incident applied for leave from their NHL and European teams and were granted leave before handing themselves in to police.
NHL will not release findings of investigation
Bettman said the NHL’s own yearlong external investigation into allegations of mass sexual assault concluded last year. He also said the NHL would not release the findings “while these charges are pending.”
Asked why the league didn’t share its findings sooner, Bettman said that when news broke that the players would be facing criminal charges, the NHL was in the midst of discussions with the players’ union about how to proceed. He said it was inside.
“I want to be clear: From the moment I first learned of this on May 26, 2022, I have repeatedly used the words abhorrent, reprehensible, horrific, and unacceptable to describe the alleged conduct. ” he said. “And those words still apply.”
Bettman also wouldn’t commit Friday to releasing the league’s investigation report once the criminal case is concluded. He said there are “constraints” on the information the league can release “under any circumstances.”
“We need to let the process run its course,” he said when asked by CBC News for a message to women who have been accused of sexual assault.
“We weren’t able to interview her,” Bettman said. “There’s no fault there. She absolutely has the right not to talk to us and we respect that, but that also reflects how complex her investigation was. ”
The commissioner said it is “inaccurate and unfair” to say there is a systemic culture problem in hockey. He said hockey players and hockey families are “overwhelmingly taking appropriate action.”
“Certainly 99.9 percent of the players in our league are behaving appropriately,” Bettman said.
“…I don’t think it’s reflective of who we are to take a few athletes in this situation or any other situation and use those allegations to criticize a particular sport.”
Bettman said sexual assault allegations are “not unique to NHL players.”
“These players were not NHL players playing in the league at the time this alleged incident occurred,” he said.
Asked if he thought the recent arrests of players for sexual assault were indicative of a systemic cultural problem in the NHL and sports, league commissioner Gary Bettman said that characterization was “inaccurate and misleading. “It’s fair,” and “99.9 percent of the time it’s unfair.” Players…behave appropriately. ”
Pascal St-Onge, Canada’s former sports minister, said last year that Canada’s hockey culture has a “systemic problem” of sexual violence and toxic masculinity, and that Hockey Canada has been unable to change it. .
Her comment is Fifth property investigation The investigation identified at least 15 mass sexual assault cases involving junior hockey players that police have investigated in Canada since 1989, half of which came to light in the past 10 years.
The woman at the center of a 2018 mass sexual assault allegation, known only as “EM” in court documents, filed a $3.5 million lawsuit that was settled by Hockey Canada.
Allegations of misconduct in Hockey Canada
The settlement shocked the sports world, with parents unknowingly having their registration fees paid toward the cost of the settlement, as well as other settlements over the years related to sexual abuse allegations worth millions of dollars. I was furious when I found out.
London police will hold a press conference on Monday about the investigation, which initially ended without charges in 2019 but was scheduled to resume in 2022 after a public backlash.
