Ray Rice became famous playing in the National Football League but has now made his mark on the NHL.
If Rice’s domestic violence case and subsequent suspension by the NFL last summer had not become such a notoriously ugly news story the world of professional hockey would likely still be living in the dark ages.
Consider this: One year ago, before Rice, Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov was arrested when his girlfriend claimed he had detained and beaten her.
Neither the Avs nor the league took any action against him, permitting him to play while the legal process played out. Eventually the charges were dropped.
The prosecutor’s office suggested that they believed the victim had been assaulted, but regretted it could not make a legal case beyond a reasonable doubt.
This month, after Rice, when Los Angeles Kings defenceman Slava Voynov was arrested after similar domestic assault claims, the NHL quickly acted and suspended Voynov indefinitely.
Now, as rumours swirl that local police will not file charges and Voynov’s attorney talks of his imminent return to action, the NHL has issued a “not so fast”.
The league, it turns out, will do their own investigation. Please do.
This week Varlamov’s girlfriend filed a US$1 million (Dh3.6m) suit against him, making him finally face the US legal system, albeit in a civil, not criminal case.
The NHL should find its own truth about the Voynovs and Varlamovs, decide their fate and not take cues from the hamstrung legal system.
sports@thenational.ae
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