Happy Pride! Remember that Sidney Crosby once sent NHL agent and long-time friend Bayne Pettinger, who at that time, had just came out publicly as gay, a personalized, framed Pride Jersey after Bayner mentioned to Crosby how he thought the Pens’ Pride warmup jerseys were so cool
while it was a relief to not have them signed to my nhl team the fact that they even looked into signing them is very telling of hockey culture. what’s even worse is our ahl affiliate signed cal foote after all of us fans spoke out about it. there is no winning the moral olympics
Carter Hart is about to play in the Stanley Cup Final. He was acquitted of sexual assault charges this past summer, but there is a lot more to the story. With the brightest lights now shining on him, it is important to understand the nuance of the controversial case.
“We Believe E.M” does not mean we believe every detail of her testimony. It does not mean we believe she did not make any mistakes that night. It simply means we believe she was sexually assaulted. And the evidence supports that belief.
I will leave you with some facts. This is all available if you research (tw // sa):
- There is ZERO evidence or testimony that EM ever asked Michael McLeod to invite additional men to that hotel room. McLeod never testified, and all we have is a video interview with police where he never made that claim, meanwhile LYING when he denied sending a text invite to ALL his teammates. On the otherhand, there is text evidence the following day of EM telling McLeod she did not expect more partners, and it was not disputed by McLeod.
- There is ZERO evidence or testimony that EM ever asked (or was asked) for Cal Foote to do the splits over her. Even if you believe the men’s story that she was saying “have sex with me”, she never said “teabag me”. The judge actually agreed in her report there was no consent, instead she dismissed it saying it was non-sexual based on Carter Hart’s testimony that Foote was not naked.
- In 2022, Alex Formenton & Dillon Dube BOTH CONFESSED to Hockey Canada that Cal Foote was naked during the splits. This was ruled inadmissible on a technicality. Other than Hart, no other witness dared to say Foote was clothed; they all pretended to not remember.
With this information, at the very least, McLeod and Foote are guilty:
- Foote performed a sexual act without consent. It does not make him a rapist, but it is a crime
- McLeod is an accessory to that sexual assault
If these two men were given the guilty verdict I strongly believe they deserved (even if it was a proverbial slap on the wrist; i.e. a 6-month house arrest), it would have been an amazing teaching moment for our nation while setting a modern standard for consent.
The conduct of the others, including Hart, may not have been illegal. There was certainly not enough evidence to prove it was. But that does not mean what they did wasn’t morally reprehensible. The NHL and Hockey Canada both agreed.
The NHL kept the players out of the league for months PAST the ruling, citing their own private investigation. Hockey Canada stood in the House of Commons and said “harm was caused” after paying out a civil settlement.
But what Hart did was more than morally wrong. He lied under oath to protect his teammates. This is actually perjury. The judge by law is not privy to those 2022 confessions, but we as a public are. We are allowed to pass judgement in the court of public opinion.
Hart is not a conquering hero who overcame adversity. He is a liar who abused his privilege and legal protection to obstruct justice. He is allowed to continue his career, and we are allowed to remind him of his abhorrent behaviour.
Reminder that the NHL is the only major sports league based in the US without a policy surrounding domestic violence. VGKs are a present example of the shortcomings of the league in this aspect but this behavior from the NHL is unfortunately not a new thing:
In lieu of offcampus and the Jimmy fallon show I think we all need to remember the culture surrounding the term and the real life consequences it has for girls/women in these circles, rape culture is perpetuated by the concept that some women will do anything to fuck a hockey guy
y’all can argue all you want over c hart being acquitted or being innocent but bottom line is I still won’t support someone who took advantage of a woman who was drunk regardless of the legal outcome.
idk what to say other than it is genuinely so sickening that a rapist is not only walking around free but playing in the highest hockey league and protected by said league to the point that he’s advancing to the semifinals for the stanley cup. this sport is so deeply evil.
The most wholesome quote, in a tired post-game locker room.
“Every win is a few more days together.”
This team is different. And I just hope they can bring the series back to Pittsburgh. The crowd would be electric.
the concept of women being into hockey because they want the men is hilarious the average hockey player is balding at 24 and missing 3 teeth, can’t hold a conversation beyond “get pucks in deep”, changes personalities every 3 head injuries and wears face/body covering equipment