The police are scheduled to hold a news conference about the investigation on Monday local time. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also took a stand on the scandal on Friday.
Hinn Hirvonen,
STT Sports
The rape scandal that rocked Canadian ice hockey took another turn when the accusations of five Canadian ice hockey players suspected of rape became public.
All five players, that is Michael McLeod, Cal Foote, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubea and Alex Formentonia be blamed according to the Canadian media, for sexual violence. According to the Canadian media, McLeod is also accused of aiding and abetting.
According to Canadian law, charges of sexual violence can be brought against a person who has had sexual intercourse with another person without their consent.
The charges are related to a charity gala organized by the Canadian Hockey Association in the summer of 2018. After the gala, a young woman is suspected of being the victim of a sexual crime in a local hotel. The players suspected of sexual violence were part of Canada’s under-20 World Cup gold team.
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The woman filed a criminal complaint, but the police did not press charges. In April 2022, the London police reopened the investigation.
Outside the courtroom, the Canadian Hockey Association reached an agreement with the plaintiff regarding compensation and paid the defendants’ compensation.
The Canadian media TSN revealed the case, which started an uproar that shook the whole of Canada. The Canadian Hockey Association admitted to paying $8.9 million to victims of sex crimes in a total of 21 separate cases since 1989 to silence the victims. The association had established its own fund for cases, the funds of which came from, among other things, membership fees.
In the summer of 2022, the police reopened the investigation.
In January 2024, the London police summoned five players for questioning by the deadline. The police are scheduled to hold a news conference about the events of the gala and the investigation on Monday local time.
The NHL commissioner commented on the case
Four of the five players are current NHL players. Attorneys for New Jersey’s Michael McLeod and Cal Foote, Philadelphia Flyers’ Carter Hart and Calgary Flames’ Dillon Dube have confirmed their principals are among the suspects.
The lawyer of Alex Formenton, who currently plays in Switzerland and previously played in the NHL, has also announced that his main man is among the suspects.
Commissioner of the NHL Hockey League Gary Bettman believes that the four NHL players suspected of sexual crimes will not return to the field this season.
– They are out of action with their teams now and all are restricted free agents after this season. Personally, I think if I were in their position, I would focus on defending myself, assuming charges are filed. I would be surprised if they played while the matter was pending, Bettman commented in connection with the league’s all-star game.
Bettman confirmed that the players in question will continue to be paid. The commissioner emphasized that there is no need to give the players a separate ban, because all of them are already on the sidelines of their teams and their contracts expire in the summer.
– I don’t think it’s necessary at this point. This is, as I have repeatedly said, quite a complex issue… I am happy that they are out of their teams and not playing. In any case, they have already been paid a large part of their salary for the year.
Bettman also said that the NHL’s own year-long investigation into the suspected crimes ended last year, but the NHL does not publish the results of the investigation during the court proceedings.