It's official. Theo Fleury abused by Graham James

[mberube]

The sad part of all this is that Graham James is still coaching youth hockey but now In Europe.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/rumors/p...urn=nhl,195030

[nokids]

as jaded as i am by this world, i'm still shocked by this.

[Hacker]

There is a special place in Hell for people like James..........

[jeffc]

can he not be tried for this crime as well? or was that covered by the first trial?

[jonf]

can he not be tried for this crime as well? or was that covered by the first trial?

As far as I understood, there was an anonymous second victim who testified in that initial trial - who has now been revealed to be Theo Fleury.

[sensfan63]

This is what I don't really get...these guys were in junior hockey when all of this happened, right? Maybe 15, 16, 17 years old?

If anyone tried to...do the things that this guy did to these players...to me? I'd have shot the guy. Multiple times. I guess I don't get why they just didn't walk away and tell the police.

Fear of getting kicked off the team and ruining the dream, I guess?

[Paulio]

This is what I don't really get...these guys were in junior hockey when all of this happened, right? Maybe 15, 16, 17 years old?

If anyone tried to...do the things that this guy did to these players...to me? I'd have shot the guy. Multiple times. I guess I don't get why they just didn't walk away and tell the police.

Fear of getting kicked off the team and ruining the dream, I guess?

I have this same opinion. I just don't understand how this happens. The story is similar to the David Frost situation with Mike Danton, although he was more interested in setting up sexual acts and watching them, from what I read. I am just surprised that nobody has ever snapped and went crazy one night on one of these two 'monsters.' Pretty sick stuff. It looks as though Theo is letting everything out in this book. I may just pick this one up. Could be a good read.

[jeffc]

well, its difficult to say since we weren't in his shoes but after seeing him on the CBC tonight, he alluded to the fact that he so badly wanted to get out of the small town he was from and James held the key to his hockey career or at least convinced Theo that he did. He didn't know what would happen if he told anyone - so effectively he was brainwashed to think if he did tell he would never make the NHL.

[jonf]

Fear of getting kicked off the team and ruining the dream, I guess?

Bingo

While I can't put myself in these guys' shoes, I can imagine that after years of effort, they finally make it to the junior leagues....last thing you want to do is piss off your coach. You have one shot at the NHL. Most kids don't get any shot at it. I imagine that is a major motivating factor in covering it up.

[mpare]

That may be one factor for not speaking up, but it can be a lot more complex than that. Victims of sexual assault, whether male or female, sometimes feel that that which happened to them was their fault. That they did something wrong. That is especially so when the victim is vulnerable, which can be the case with teenagers. The psychological damage caused by these predators is far greater than the physical damage. It's not surprising then that the victims remain quite. It can take years for them to come to grips with what was done to them, including realizing that they were not at fault. That's what makes these crimes so despicable.

Bingo

While I can't put myself in these guys' shoes, I can imagine that after years of effort, they finally make it to the junior leagues....last thing you want to do is piss off your coach. You have one shot at the NHL. Most kids don't get any shot at it. I imagine that is a major motivating factor in covering it up.

[mberube]

Haven’t you guys seen the Kennedy film on CBC a few years back? You see exactly how he was manipulated into sexual activities by James. Like some of you guys already said, all these kids want is to make it to the NHL. Most of them left home at the age of 12-13 years old. They are very insecure and their main and only goal is the NHL. James, as every sexual predator is an expert in manipulating and brainwashing. He was in a position of authority. He would tell Kennedy that NHL scouts were coming to see the following game and if he would not do sexual things then he would not get ice time thus visibility. He would also threaten to say negative things to the scouts when they came to see him. He would also tell him that he would kill his parents if he told them, if I recall correctly. He had a shot gun with him at home and would intimidate the kids with it and backup what he said in regards with killing their families. He is a sick individual. To fully understand I would recommend renting the Kennedy biography/film.

Youtube and Google it.

Mike