Hart?

[Kermit the Prog]

Glad Bif brought up OJ, because it serves my point.

The court of public opinion contains a jury of complete idiots. I could not possibly care what “the public” thinks about anything. However, I have that luxury, as a single (and sexy) man. As a business, like the Flyers, the NHL, or any sports league, they do not have that luxury.

My verdict under those circumstances: No.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

No

 

[GapToothedWonder]

So what kind of reaction do you want if someone accuses you of sexual assault? Immediate pariah status, or do you want your day in court before people pour hate on you?

If I ever get myself in a situation where I'm accused of gang raping somebody and after years of being allowed to keep my job while it was being investigated I would probably be pretty grateful for the fact the organization I worked for allowed me to keep my job up until rhe moment I got charged.

I would also be grateful that I got paid after I was legal forced back to my country of origin and was no longer allowed to travel to the country where my job was located.

 

[Cootsfanclub]

It will never happen, even if he’s found not guilty. I would take him back and think he should have played until the legal process finished unless it was weighing on his head too much and affected play. The organization’s reputation is already in the dumps might as well be the villains of the league.

 

[Bigkarl]

Take the whole legal aspect of it away.

No team in North America is going to allow him to even practice with them until the trials are over. Even if he's found innocent, and that's a very large if, he's going to be so far removed from playing competitive sports that his athletic career will be shot.

He will never play in the NHL again. If found innocent, he still might not ever reach the AHL again. His career is toast

He can't be found "innocent". Maybe not guilty. Big difference. Short of discovering that he was never in the room at all, there's practically no way he comes out of a trial looking good, even if he's found not guilty.

 

[Beef Invictus]

It will never happen, even if he’s found not guilty. I would take him back and think he should have played until the legal process finished unless it was weighing on his head too much and affected play. The organization’s reputation is already in the dumps might as well be the villains of the league.

Once he was charged he could only play for us in Canada.

 

[mja]

He can't be found "innocent". Maybe not guilty. Big difference. Short of discovering that he was never in the room at all, there's practically no way he comes out of a trial looking good, even if he's found not guilty.

Yes, a case of mistaken identity where he wasn't actually in the room would be his only way out of this, given what we know went down in the room. That seems highly unlikely given the breadth of the investigation or even Hart's lawyer's prior obfuscating statement during the investigation.

 

[Svechhammer]

He can't be found "innocent". Maybe not guilty. Big difference. Short of discovering that he was never in the room at all, there's practically no way he comes out of a trial looking good, even if he's found not guilty.

I mean fair. You know what I meant, though.

Trial aside, he's going to be out of hockey so long from here on out that even if he gets the most favorable ruling possible, he'll never play again.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Why is this thread still going?

 

[Curufinwe]

He can't be found "innocent". Maybe not guilty. Big difference. Short of discovering that he was never in the room at all, there's practically no way he comes out of a trial looking good, even if he's found not guilty.

Even if there was somehow exonerating footage of Hart in another country on the date of the incident, the Flyers don't really have the cap space to keep him.

 

[1865]

This all makes me think of the Mason Greenwood story. His girlfriend released audio and images accusing him of sexually and physically assaulting her, but it didn't lead to a conviction. In a legal sense, he's not guilty but... well, the public have long since made their own mind up about things like that.

Has it been discussed officially of exactly what Hart is charged with? Is he alleged to be directly involved, or is it more that he stood by and did nothing?

Why is this thread still going?

Because people are talking about it and i don't think it's crossed any legal lines so why not?

 

[Curufinwe]

He was charged with sexual assault.

 

[Larry44]

I mean fair. You know what I meant, though.

Trial aside, he's going to be out of hockey so long from here on out that even if he gets the most favorable ruling possible, he'll never play again.

The players were always in a no win situation once they made the drunken mistake of going to that hotel room. The only way to keep the details of that night's events from being public, in detail, was to plead guilty to a lesser charge/sentence and spare the victim reliving it in public. That would've likely ended their careers, even if they only got probation, but it's a PR nightmare for them by re-victimizing her. Not surprising for entitled hockey brat-bastards.

Going to trial means that the whole thing will be replayed, from the bar to the room to the invite from a teammate to join him with her. There is no way they can exonerate themselves without testifying, and someone will mess up. Besides the severity of the offense, the attempt to cover it up is always worse = consciousness of guilt. All their texts and emails are evidence. My uneducated guess is that a least a few of them get custodial sentences, if not all five.

They may all try to resume their careers in a couple years, but will have to start in Russia and work their way back to the NHL.

 

[mize370]

I know I made mistakes in my very young days and have rebounded into a what I think is a decent person. Hopefully the accused become better because of it too

 

[GapToothedWonder]

It will never happen, even if he’s found not guilty. I would take him back and think he should have played until the legal process finished unless it was weighing on his head too much and affected play. The organization’s reputation is already in the dumps might as well be the villains of the league.

The Flyers more or less did play him until the legal process forced him to be deported. He isn't allowed to leave Canada. Should the Flyers keep him on the roster to play only against the Canadian teams?

 

[DancingPanther]

I know I made mistakes in my very young days and have rebounded into a what I think is a decent person. Hopefully the accused become better because of it too

Rape is not a immature mistake my dude. It's a monstrous premeditated action

 

[Limeyjim]

Even if Hart was allowed to return to his playing career, the play of Sammy Ersson has made Hart redundant on the Flyers.
G'bye 79, forever.

 

[Juicy Pop]

Nope. The team isn't going to take that big of a reputation hit.

The time spent away from hockey destroys his potential as a starter, even if he is found to be innocent.