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http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...4d30e3&k=27281
In matters of morality, not all our heroes are equal
Bruce Dowbiggin, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, December 08, 2005
Much is made of character-building in sports. If you believed even half the PR churned out by pro sports teams, you'd think every top jock was a step removed from sainthood.
Sports Illustrated, for instance, invariably prints a cosy family picture whenever it does a feature on the latest phenom.
But even a cursory peek at the record will show many sports heroes have fallen short of eagle scout status. (As do many of us in other fields.) Especially in the realm of sexual assault, the list of star athletes either accused or convicted of rape is lengthy.
From Babe Ruth to Kobe Bryant, there have been accusations of sexual impropriety for decades -- more so now that sports reporting has become diligent in describing the real world of pro athletes, not an imagined paradise of superheroes.
Among hockey players, Ed Jovanovski (charges dropped), Dan Quinn (dropped), Todd Harvey (dropped), Grant Marshall (dropped), Scott Stevens (dropped), Dino Ciccarelli (convicted) and Billy Tibbetts (convicted) were either accused or convicted of sexual assaults.
The topic of athletes having sexual relations with their fans is a subject too large and contentious for a single column. But how should sport, which preaches wholesome family values, deal with players who've been either accused or convicted of crimes, sexual or otherwise? Does the mere allegation of misbehaviour, let alone a guilty plea, disqualify an athlete from pursuing a living in pro sports leagues?
The questions are fresh again in the wake of the Calgary Flames acquiring forward Kristian Huselius from the Florida Panthers last week. Huselius and fellow Swedes Henrik Tallinder and Andreas Lilja were accused of raping a woman in Sweden while playing in their homeland during the National Hockey League lockout.
While charges against the trio were eventually dropped for lack of evidence, the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation disqualified them from representing Sweden for a year, including the 2006 Olympics. (The NHL has not addressed the matter.)
The mixed result thus left Huselius only partly vindicated. He has said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that he wishes to move on.
So how should pro sports teams treat athletes who've been publicly accused of a sexual assault? Are they still liabilities even when cleared of the charges? When should the statute of limitations on such notoriety expire for someone such as Huselius?
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My question is:
Should a team check out a player's life style/actions before they sign them or should their signing only be about their sports contributions?
I was thinking about this because I was bored so I decided to google a Andreas Lilja of the Red Wings. I was just thinking why would they want to sign this guy, yeah he's good on the ice but what about off the ice. Even though he was cleared of the rape accusations he still brings along with him bad PR.
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