Gary Bettman Breaks Silence on WJC Scandal with Official Statement
The NHL commissioner Gary Bettman held a press conference on Friday afternoon.
As it was expected, he mentionned the 2018 WJC Team Canada Junior scandal.
Bettman Breaks the Silence on WJC 2018 Scandal in Press Conference
In a major declaration, Bettman opened up on the scandal that led to four current NHL players to report the the London Police to face charges.
Here's what he said:
"Now, before Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley and I take your questions, I want to discuss recent developments relating to the 2018 canadian world junior team. I want to talk about this up front because I'm going to tell you everything that I believe I can say or is appropriate to say. I want to be clear if from the moment we first learned about this on May 26, 2022, I have repeatedly used the words abhorrent, reprehensible, horrific, and unacceptable to describe the alleged behaviors, and those words continue to apply.
Given the events of last week, I believe further context on our process and overall timeline is important. We made a commitment to, and did, in fact, launch an external investigation into the 2018 incident. This task was complex because of a variety of factors, not the least of which was that our authority had limitations, the volume of information, the passage of time, and the fact that other investigations were going on at the same time, specifically the reopened investigations of Bolt Hockey Canada and the London Police Service.
These three investigations, the two that I just named and ours, proceeded on separate and distinct paths. Our investigation took approximately twelve months to complete the investigatory stage. Our investigators reviewed volumes of information and conducted interviews of all players on the 2018 team, as well as other relevant individuals who were willing to participate in the investigation.
We had concluded the investigatory portion of our process to the extent we could, and we were working with the NHL Players association to analyze the information. We had, create a process to move forward, and then determine what was an appropriate response. When the news of the impending charges broke last week, we had heard similar rumors before about the possibility of charges, none of which had come to fruition, and in this instance, we did not have advance notice from the London authorities.
As stated, these investigations were separate from one another. While there are reports of indictments, we have not received official confirmation from the London authorities that five players have been or will be indicted, although it appears from reports that they will be adding. As such, and if charges are pending, it would be inappropriate to provide further comment on the matter.
Finally, as I think everyone knows, all of the NHL players who appear to be subject of indictment are no longer with their teams. And so at this stage, the most responsible and prudent thing for us to do is await the conclusion of initial proceedings, at which point we will respond as appropriate at the time.
To reiterate, this is the full extent of what I'm comfortable sharing, and anything else would either be speculative or, as I've said before, inappropriate."
Given the events of last week, I believe further context on our process and overall timeline is important. We made a commitment to, and did, in fact, launch an external investigation into the 2018 incident. This task was complex because of a variety of factors, not the least of which was that our authority had limitations, the volume of information, the passage of time, and the fact that other investigations were going on at the same time, specifically the reopened investigations of Bolt Hockey Canada and the London Police Service.
These three investigations, the two that I just named and ours, proceeded on separate and distinct paths. Our investigation took approximately twelve months to complete the investigatory stage. Our investigators reviewed volumes of information and conducted interviews of all players on the 2018 team, as well as other relevant individuals who were willing to participate in the investigation.
We had concluded the investigatory portion of our process to the extent we could, and we were working with the NHL Players association to analyze the information. We had, create a process to move forward, and then determine what was an appropriate response. When the news of the impending charges broke last week, we had heard similar rumors before about the possibility of charges, none of which had come to fruition, and in this instance, we did not have advance notice from the London authorities.
As stated, these investigations were separate from one another. While there are reports of indictments, we have not received official confirmation from the London authorities that five players have been or will be indicted, although it appears from reports that they will be adding. As such, and if charges are pending, it would be inappropriate to provide further comment on the matter.
Finally, as I think everyone knows, all of the NHL players who appear to be subject of indictment are no longer with their teams. And so at this stage, the most responsible and prudent thing for us to do is await the conclusion of initial proceedings, at which point we will respond as appropriate at the time.
To reiterate, this is the full extent of what I'm comfortable sharing, and anything else would either be speculative or, as I've said before, inappropriate."
To hear his full declaration, listen to the following video:
More to come.
As seen on House of Hockey - BREAKING NEWS: Gary Bettman Releases His First Statement On The WJC Scandal
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