hockey's business and legal

Hockey’s Business and Legal Updates March 4 through 10 with Alleged Child Abuse Cover Up in San Jose

Alec Roberson

It’s that time again when we take a look at what’s been happening in hockey’s business and legal world. Once a week we cover the big and not so big stories in this arena. We also include a featured story of the period. Let’s take a look at what has been happening this period.

Hockey’s Business and Legal News

NHL Interest in Houston

With all of the talk recently of NHL expansion in Utah and Georgia, businessman Tilman Feritta has reportedly expressed interest in bringing an NHL team to Houston, Texas. While Feritta doesn’t want to be the main guy but just part of the investment group, the sense is that Houston would be behind Salt Lake City and Atlanta in the line of expansion cities. With that said, keep an eye on this one.

Minor Hockey Coach Files Defamation Suit

Following a previously filed abuse lawsuit, a minor hockey coach in the London, Ontario area filed a defamation lawsuit against the parent who filed such original suit. The parent alleged that the coach physically and verbally abused said parent’s child. That original suit also named Hockey Canada and the specific hockey association as defendants. While abuse has become a more exposed issue in hockey, this is a potential case where it can be a two-way street.

New Jersey Devils Allegedly Forced Mackenzie Blackwood to Play Injured

Former New Jersey Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood alleged that while playing for the Devils, they forced him to play even though he believed he was too hurt. He claimed he never fully healed. Then when the Devils asked him to play, the injuries kept compiling. This is one side to the story but it’s hard to imagine that this doesn’t happen more than we are really aware.

2018 WJC Sexual Assault Pre-Trial Begins

Lawyers for the five members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior Championship team charged with sexual assault appeared (virtually) in court on March 5. They will attend a privately held pre-trial conference on April 3 to begin organizing and establishing pre-trial motions, potential witnesses and such. No date has yet been set for the trial but that should be decided in the near future.

OHL Concludes Investigation into Bounty Allegations

In a previous hockey’s business and legal updates, we discussed that the OHL was investigating an alleged “bounty” incident. Certain statements came out following a Sudbury Wolves – Barrie Colts game that indicated that various Wolves players had put a bounty on a Colts player. The OHL concluded its investigation. It concluded that Wolves players Nathan Villeneuve and Evan Konyen violated the OHL Social Media Policy. It assessed a 15 game suspension to Villeneuve and a 10 game suspension to Konyen.

NHL Renews Partnership with Caesars Sportsbook

The NHL and Caesars Entertainment renewed a multi-year North American partnership for Caesars to be a Sports Betting and Gaming Partner of the NHL. This provides Caesars Digital with access to NHL-owned intellectual property to build and promote NHL-branded iCasino games for its online casino platforms in North America for the first time. It also provides special promotional and marketing opportunities for Caesars with additional membership perks tied to the NHL.

Updates On Carolina’s Search for an AHL Team

Previously, reports indicated that the Carolina Hurricanes made a pitch to purchase an AHL team or pay for a new one to increase the AHL team number to 33. Their pitch was reportedly in the $6 to $7 million range. This is less than the last two or three AHL teams purchased which came in at or over $10 million. At the time, the AHL seems to have little interest in expanding to 33 teams but if the NHL expands, the AHL may follow.

New reports indicate that first, Carolina’s discounted offer was met with rejection. But also that Carolina has interest in looking at Baltimore as a potential place for a new AHL team. As we have previously discussed, NHL teams sometimes own AHL teams or they partner with independently owned ones. Its advantageous to own an AHL team as it provides control and stability. But time will tell for Carolina who currently has no AHL team affiliation.

Anaheim Ducks and Van Collaboration

In one of this period’s more “fun” stories, the Anaheim Ducks have partnered with Vans to come out with a 30th anniversary limited edition shoe line. This is the first time that Vans has partnered with a professional sports team. The collaboration known as Vans X Ducks is a series of three different shoes. Ducks forward Frank Vatrano had a big hand in this collaboration as well. As we previously explored, hockey players have relatively short playing careers and many find themselves involved with other ventures and passions. This appears to be something Vatrano may continue to explore.

Hockey’s Business and Legal Updates Featured Story: San Jose Sharks Sports and Entertainment Covered Up Child Sexual Abuse

In this period’s hockey’s business and legal updates featured story, Sharks Sports and Entertainment allegedly covered up a Jr. Sharks coach sexually abusing minor players. These allegations coming in the form of a lawsuit against SSE provide that Kevin Whitmer, a former San Jose Jr. Sharks hockey coach, inappropriately touched players under the guise of medical evaluations, asked for photos of kids’ bodies and took them to the locker room alone in April 2021 at the Sharks Ice skating rink.

In addition to seeking punitive damages from Whitmer, the lawsuit goes further to provide that SSE covered up the incidents as they had information they withheld from parents of Sharks players that could have prevented the incidents. In addition, SSE management ignored an employee in charge of the locker room when she raised concerns about Whitmer. She was also terminated shortly after doing so. SSE is the parent company of the San Jose Sharks in the NHL.

Post image attribution: By: Jenn G from Seattle, WA, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alec Roberson

Alec Roberson grew up in coastal North Carolina, taking a somewhat unconventional path to hockey. With hockey being almost nonexistent in that area, Alec found his passion for the game following the success of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2001 and 2006 and later played club hockey in college. After going through law school and practicing for some time, he now continues his love for the game through writing. Find him on twitter @roberson_alec

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