Almost eight months after starting it, the NHL has still not completed its investigation into allegations of gang rape against members of Canada’s 2018 World Cup junior team.
The process “is very close to the end”, assured Gary Bettman, Tuesday, at the Bell Center. The commissioner of the circuit was in Montreal to attend the duel between the Boston Bruins and the Canadiens and lent himself to a scrum just before the game.
In particular, he argued that an “investigation of this nature” is not done “by snapping your fingers”, citing the challenge of obtaining access “to information and people” in connection with the case.
However, it is at least the third time, since the beginning of October, that the leaders of the league affirm that the investigation completes, without ever seeing the result. Quoted by the Sportsnet network on October 4, Bill Daly, assistant commissioner of the NHL, said he had “almost finished” meeting the players linked to the scandal. In mid-November, a league spokesperson said in an email to The Press, that the investigation was “closer to the end than the beginning”. Two months later, the version is the same.
During the summer, Mr. Daly had nevertheless expressed the wish that, “in an ideal world”, the investigation would be concluded before the training camps begin, that is to say in mid-September. This Tuesday, Gary Bettman rather stressed that this investigation was “not a race” and that he wanted things to be done “the right way”.
League investigators have not faced ‘resistance’ from potential witnesses, he says, but they have to deal with certain ‘realities’, including the need to coordinate with the Players’ Association in the planning meetings. “We can’t do everything unilaterally,” he said.
Not the only ones
The hockey world has been in turmoil since it was learned last May that Hockey Canada had reached an out-of-court settlement with the alleged victim of a gang sexual assault. The events would have occurred in June 2018, on the sidelines of the annual banquet of the foundation of the organization in London, Ontario. In a civil lawsuit, a young woman claimed she was assaulted by eight Canadian Hockey League players, most of whom had made the national junior team that year. The overwhelming majority of players in this formation (20 out of 22) play today in the NHL. To date, the identity of the suspects has not been released.
As of May 27, 2022, Gary Bettman announced the launch of an investigation. Hours before the draft in July, he called the alleged acts “horrible, horrifying and unacceptable”, promising “to get to the bottom of this matter [afin] to have a complete understanding of who did what”. All players on the team would be questioned, he said. The investigation is being led by Jared Maples, executive vice president of circuit safety.
To Montreal journalists on Tuesday, Mr. Bettman reminded twice that the league he leads was “not the only one” to investigate the allegations.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Gary Bettman
Hockey Canada and the London police have indeed reactivated investigations on this subject. Both bodies had both opened and closed investigations following the events of 2018.
“No one has finished,” remarked the commissioner. This is incorrect: just before Christmas, Hockey Canada announced that the investigation it had commissioned from an outside firm was indeed complete. However, its conclusions have been entrusted to an independent review committee which will make recommendations to the Board of Directors as to the follow-up to be given to the exercise. This process is still ongoing.
In addition, on December 18, the Globe & Mail revealed that London police had “reasonable grounds” to believe that five players had indeed assaulted a young woman during the events of 2018.
Also on Tuesday, Gary Bettman emphasized the difficulty of “getting access to certain people” on short notice. The NHL does not have the authority to send subpoenas to witnesses, he argued, and has limited access to “documentary” evidence.
“It’s complicated: you can’t just say ‘we want it to happen’. We have to do things the right way,” concluded the commissioner.