Former Montreal Canadiens player Victor Mete has said he is not involved in the alleged gang rape allegedly carried out by members of the Canada Junior Team in 2018.
Mete had been loaned by the Habs to the Canadian junior hockey team in December 2017.
Hockey Canada quietly brokered an out-of-court settlement last month with a woman, now 24, who alleged she was the victim of a gang rape involving members of the World Championship championship team. junior hockey 2018 on the sidelines of a gala and golf tournament that took place four years ago in London, Ont.
Although Mete was on the team, he said in a statement released Thursday that he and his family were in Jamaica at the time.
“It’s important for me to say that I was absent from the gala where this horrific event took place,” Mete said in a statement posted on Twitter Thursday. At the same time, I was on vacation with my family and friends in Jamaica, and I recently learned about this situation through the media.
“I am deeply troubled by the reports that are circulating about this incident and if I am asked to cooperate with an investigation, then I will do so without restraint,” he added.
The allegations of the alleged victim have still not been submitted to court.
Hockey Canada executives were riddled with questions about it before the Canadian Heritage Standing Committee last week.
The organization that oversees the discipline in the country has lost its public funding as well as many sponsors because of its management of the file.
Recipe Unlimited, the company that owns the Swiss Chalet and The Keg chains, announced Thursday that it is ending its business partnership with Hockey Canada.
Separately, equipment manufacturer Bauer, one of Hockey Canada’s major business partners, issued a statement Thursday in which the company described the allegations as “extremely disturbing.” She adds that she is following the case carefully to determine how she should manage her commercial partnership with the national organization.
“We have recently observed troubling situations, especially for young women, in several Canadian communities,” said Mary-Kay Messier, vice president of marketing at Bauer, in a press release. Our structures and our laws have failed to defend the interests of families. »