SI:AM | Four NHL Players Charged With Sexual Assault

Plus, the latest on the remaining NFL coaching jobs.

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🏈 Senior Bowl takeaways

🏀 NBA power rankings

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Hockey Canada’s sexual assault scandal

Four current NHL players have been charged with sexual assault and instructed to surrender to police in Canada, more than five years after a woman said she was sexually assaulted by members of the Canadian World Junior team.

The players are ​​Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dubé, Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart, and forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote, both of the New Jersey Devils. The four men have been instructed to turn themselves in to police in London, Ontario. A fifth player, former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton, who currently plays in Switzerland, was also charged and surrendered to police over the weekend.

Through their lawyers, all five players said they are innocent.

The charges come after a woman said she was sexually assaulted by eight hockey players, including members of the Canadian team that had won the 2018 World Junior Championships in January of that year. The woman said that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted in a hotel room after a June ’18 gala event celebrating the team’s championship.

The allegations were first publicized in May 2022 when TSN’s Rick Westhead reported that Hockey Canada settled a $3.55 million lawsuit brought by the woman. The woman did not speak with London police during its initial investigation—she said she was intimidated by the players and pressured not to cooperate with the inquiry—and the case was closed. But the case was reopened after the lawsuit was settled, leading to the charges.

The settlement and subsequent renewed investigation was a major story in Canada, sparking government inquiries and leading some sponsors to withdraw their support for the 2023 World Juniors in Edmonton. Hockey Canada’s chief financial officer told parliament in a summer ’22 hearing that the organization had paid CAD$9 million (about USD$6.7 million) to settle 21 complaints of sexual abuse over the past 33 years. Parliament also commissioned an audit to ensure that Hockey Canada, which receives public funding, had not used taxpayer money to make the payments.

The case involving the four active NHL players isn’t the only ongoing sexual assault investigation tied to the Canadian junior national team. Police in Halifax announced last week that they were investigating sexual assault allegations against members of the Canadian team that competed at the 2003 World Juniors.

The four NHL players facing charges in London are not currently with their teams. Hart and Dubé left their teams before The Globe and Mail reported last week that London police were preparing to charge the five players. The Devils announced on Friday that McLeod and Foote would be away from the team. The Flames said Dubé’s absence was to address his mental health when he left the team on Jan. 21. ESPN reported that some players were advised by their lawyers not to inform their teams about the pending charges.

London police have yet to comment on the case but are set to address the media at a press conference on Feb. 5.

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SIQ

Today is former NFL defensive end Mario Williams’s 39th birthday. He was selected by the Houston Texans with the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft out of what school?

• North Carolina
• NC State
• Penn State
• South Carolina

Yesterday’s SIQ: On Jan. 30, 1936, the National League franchise in Boston previously known as the Braves announced the new nickname it would use that season. What was it?

• Blues
• Bees
• Beaneaters
• Patriots

Answer: Bees. It was a rough time for the franchise. The team was broke, and its previous owner surrendered his stake in the team near the end of the previous season, forcing the league to assume control of the franchise. As part of that fresh start, the team announced that it would no longer be known as the Braves and solicited input from fans on the new name. After 1,300 submissions, the team decided on Bees, which beat out Blues, Blue Birds and Colonials, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

The Bees got a new look, as well, ditching their navy-and-red uniforms for royal blue and gold. But the team’s uniforms didn’t feature any flying insects or even the word Bees. The home jerseys had a big B on the chest, and the road jerseys had Boston across the front.

The name change obviously didn’t stick. It lasted five seasons before the franchise went back to being known as the Braves in 1941.