NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman informed the media that the league’s external inquiry into an alleged sexual assault involving four current NHL players and one former NHL player during their tenure with the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team will not be disclosed to the public until the conclusion of judicial proceedings.
Bettman emphasized this stance during his All-Star Weekend press conference in Toronto, delivering a nearly four-minute statement on the ongoing investigation.
Bettman stated, as reported by ESPN’s Kristen Shilton on Friday, “There’s a serious judicial process that looks like it’s unfolding.
Gary Bettman makes a statement on the 2018 World Juniors investigation. pic.twitter.com/4CC1C0a3Ru
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 2, 2024
And while we were doing our investigation, we didn’t want to interfere with what the London Police Service was doing. And we’re not going to do anything to interfere with or influence the judicial proceedings. We’re all going to have to see how that plays out.”
According to Robyn Doolittle, Rachel Brady, and Grant Robertson of the Globe and Mail, a woman alleges that five players from the 2018 Canadian junior hockey team—Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote, Dillon Dubé, and Alex Formenton—sexually assaulted her at the Delta Armouries hotel in London, Ontario.
The woman claimed that eight players were involved in total, and the incident occurred in the early morning hours after the team’s celebration of winning the world junior championships.
TSN’s Rick Westhead reported on Jan. 30 that all mentioned players had been instructed to turn themselves into the police in London, Ontario. Bettman did not anticipate them being suspended without pay pending the update from London police on Monday regarding the investigation.
“I don’t think that’s necessary at this stage,” Bettman said. “This is a complicated juris procedural matter. The fact that they’re away from their teams and not playing, I’m comfortable with. They’ve been paid the vast bulk of their salary for the year anyway. That’s not the concern. The concern is to get this right.”
NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh shared a similar sentiment, expressing a desire to see how the police investigation unfolds before any further action is taken. “This is [about] charges pending.
It’s an investigation that will now enter the courts, and I’m going to leave it there. These players are innocent before proven guilty. Obviously, the circumstances on the case are challenging, and waiting to see how this plays out is really important.”
As noted by Shilton, Hockey Canada and the London police were informed of the allegations in June 2018. The police closed their investigation in February 2019 without filing charges.
Subsequently, the woman filed a $3.55 million civil suit against Hockey Canada and the eight players. Hockey Canada settled out of court with the woman. The investigation was reopened in July 2022 following the discovery of additional investigative avenues.
Bettman acknowledged the complexity of the league’s investigation, citing limitations on their authority, the volume of information, the passage of time, and concurrent investigations. The league interviewed every player on the team, while the woman declined to participate in the league’s inquiry.
The next significant development in the case is expected to come during the Monday press conference, the details of which had not been disclosed as of Friday evening.
