The NHL has been under fire lately after some ugly off-ice incidents involving some fairly recognizable players. Slava Voynov’s domestic altercation. Mike Richards’ drug incident. Ryan O’Reilly driving drunk into a Tim Horton’s. Though the league hasn’t entered NFL territory, the number of issues is alarming.
What does Gary Bettman think about what has transpired over the last several months? The league and the NHLPA are considering creating an additional educational program which would focus on domestic violence and sexual abuse, but for the most part Bettman is pleased with how players around the league conduct themselves.
Via ESPN:
“What I’ve said is we have over 700 players, and overwhelmingly they conduct themselves in a magnificent, appropriate way that reflects well on each other, and on their teams, the league and the game. As I’ve said as well, we’ve had a variety of programs in place, we’re constantly looking at what we can do to make sure that the programs are touching the right bases and are effective, but we focus on what we think is best for our players and our game. As I’ve said, overwhelmingly our players do the right things.”
Bettman also pointed to the fact the league and the NHLPA already have several programs in place, but it’s important to view things on a case-by-case basis.
“We, meaning the Players’ Association and the League, have a number of programs and counseling and educational forms in place to hopefully make sure players are focused on doing the right things, which they do overwhelmingly. When you get a situation where there is this type of attention and focus, we believe you deal with it on a case-by-case basis, because rarely are two of these circumstances identical.”
All in all, Bettman is accurate with the fact the majority of the NHL composes themselves quite well (as far as we know). With that in mind, it’s still important to educate young NHL skaters as early as possible. The LA Kings recently hired a former banned player to assist in educating their skaters on drug abuse and domestic violence. The league may end up creating other avenues to assist players, but it’s important for each team to educate their players as early as possible.
