Should Wayne Step Down?

[Jazz]

"The Newark Star-Ledger reported Thursday morning that law enforcement sources told them that state wiretaps recorded Rick Tocchet and Wayne Gretzky allegedly discussing the multimillion dollar gambling operation before it was dismantled.

During a news conference Tuesday night, Gretzky said he had no involvement with the gambling ring. "

Wayne's turning this into a laughing stock

Discussing and being involved are 2 different things..

 

[who_me?]

"The reality is, I'm not involved, I wasn't involved and I'm not going to be involved,"
~Gretzky

Gretzky can be heard on wiretaps made within the past month discussing with assistant coach Rick Tocchet how his wife could avoid being implicated
~The Associated Press

If that's not lying, then I don't know what is.

Gretzky is obviously playing with semantics. Maybe he didn't directly place bets but he obviously knew his wife was. Or maybe he was using his wife to place bets?

 

[Metallian*]

On the team 990 in Montreal they are saying that he might step down tonight.

 

[Metallian*]

Gretzky is obviously playing with semantics. Maybe he didn't directly place bets but he obviously knew his wife was. Or maybe he was using his wife to place bets?

if he was talking to tocchet about finding ways to get his wife out of trouble in the last month prior to this, the reality is that's definately getting involved

 

[waffledave]

Do you have a link, or can anyone verify this?

Radio, so no link. All I can say is that it was reported by Stephen Brunt who is in Turin right now and said to keep our ears open for the announcement tonight.

 

[john g]

Uhh, there is a little thing called due process. You know, innocent until proven guilty. Nobody, not even you, knows what went on. So quit giving us this "holier than thou" speech.

Are Wayne and Rick, US Citizens? This does not apply worldwide until about 30 years when we have taken over everything.

We gave Richard Ried some lee-way, so I guess we can cut these two some slack.

 

[john g]

On a more curious note, doesnt a judge have to decide whether wire taps are admissable evidence in court or not? I can't imagine they have decided that yet in this case, so wouldn't the release of this information be a deterrent to the success of the prosecution?

 

[Millions Livio]

1. The media stretches the truth and also only gives us PART of the story, I trust no media source at the momment.

2. Wayne stepping down would be a like a nuke going off, it'd be mayhem and it's also highly uncalled for. People are making this whole thing much bigger than it is. If I had a million dollars I'd bet a every single one of you has made a money bet at some point in their lives. I'm not saying this is nothing, but this isn't also something to ruin all of that over.

3. I agree that the story of Wayne talking about it could be lies, so we'll see until more information shows up.

4. You guys need to think this through logically and realistically before posting.

 

[HuMz]

They can't have someone tied to illegal gambling (tied to the mob) MANAGING Team Canada, and same goes for the Coyotes

How do we know he's not picking guys like Mccabe/Bouwmeester over Boyle/Phaneuf just to throw off Canada a bit so his chornies can bet against Canada? Maybe that would explain the idiotic Draper/Doan additions and all the other questionable move's he's made concerning this team.

Why else leave two of the best players in the league (Spezza/Staal) off of the team??

This is something Hockey Canada does not need over its head. Get rid of Wayne.

It's all a conspiracy!!!.....watch out there all you to get you too!

 

[Chief_10]

I think we need one more

 

[hossy316]

As soon as I saw who created this thread my first words were, "This should be intelligent!"

Then I saw that Wayne picked McCabe & J-Bo over Phaneuf & Boyle so they will lose post, and thought, yep, I was right!

Can you imagine if Wayne stepped down right now, how much turmoil that would cause for the Canadian team. More then what they are going to be going through anyhow, IMO.

 

[The Legend]

He has ties to Tocchet, and his wife is accused, and he's now on the hotseat and obviously lying.

It should be enough to get him outta there.

First off, Tocchet is his assistant coach....so obviously he has ties to him. Doan should be thrown off to right? He has ties to Tocchet also...


Honestly, are you kidding me? The gambling ring goes back allegedly to 2002....when Canada won a gold medal.


This is the most blown out of proportion thing I have ever seen. Why even let Canada into the Olympics? They have ties to Gretzky, and Tocchet is from there....

 

[Metallian*]

First off, Tocchet is his assistant coach....so obviously he has ties to him. Doan should be thrown off to right? He has ties to Tocchet also...


Honestly, are you kidding me? The gambling ring goes back allegedly to 2002....when Canada won a gold medal.


This is the most blown out of proportion thing I have ever seen. Why even let Canada into the Olympics? They have ties to Gretzky, and Tocchet is from there....

Are you slow? Can you not put 2 & 2 together?

If you have a GM tied to illegal gambling, with all the crooked stuff that happens at the Olympics, you can't let him be a part of it anymore. It's a fact.

Stop trying to overlook everything.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Should Wayne Step Down?

With all of the fiasco surrounding Gretzky and his wife, should Wayne step down as GM of Team Canada for the time being until things are sorted out? This is the last thing we need floating around our heads at the Olympics.

With Holland being named the new GM for the IIHF Championships, a transition shouldn't be too hard to accomplish.

At this point in the proceedings Gretzky has next to nothing to do with Team Canada other than clapping after they score a goal.

It's not like midway through the tourney he can trade LeCavalier & Doan to the Slovaks for Hossa & Chara.

 

[Polska]

if he was talking to tocchet about finding ways to get his wife out of trouble in the last month prior to this, the reality is that's definately getting involved

How is that getting involved? He's not placing bets, he's not financing anything, he's talking about his wife. And second of all, we don't even know what was said. It's been pointed out that this conversation could have been quite innocent. It was most likely him inquiring about the legality of his wife placing bets with Tocchet's group. Obviously he would be concerned about that, it's his wife afterall.

I see no reason whatsoever for him to step down at this point. I think you're jumping the gun here and now you're just getting defensive and more stuck on your position as a result.

 

[The Legend]

Are you slow? Can you not put 2 & 2 together?

If you have a GM tied to illegal gambling, with all the crooked stuff that happens at the Olympics, you can't let him be a part of it anymore. It's a fact.

Stop trying to overlook everything.

Are you slow? He is tied to illegal gambling because he knows people who do it? His assistant coach ran a gambling ring.....his wife bets on it......so he should step down? What kind of logic is that? What does one have to do with another?

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

What a funny thread, I guess Phoenix let Edmonton score with a second left so Gretz and company could win a bet. Gretzky won't step nor should he.

 

[El_Scoobo]

innocent until proven guilty. Wayne has no reason not to go at this point in time.

 

[Metallian*]

At this point in the proceedings Gretzky has next to nothing to do with Team Canada other than clapping after they score a goal.

It's not like midway through the tourney he can trade LeCavalier & Doan to the Slovaks for Hossa & Chara.

Exactly.

So he should stay out of there and not bring the media frenzy with him to distract the players.

Are you slow? He is tied to illegal gambling because he knows people who do it? His assistant coach ran a gambling ring.....his wife bets on it......so he should step down? What kind of logic is that? What does one have to do with another?

Are you?

He's tied to gambling because his GM, his wife, and his assistant coach (and friend) have all been gambling illegally. He knew about it, he was involved with it (wire taps prove this), and as such shouldn't be in charge of Team Canada.

If you can't see the fundamentals behind this, then you need help.

 

[gobolt7]

Some of you need to cool it here. Debating a point is fine, attacking or demeaning another a poster is not.

 

[Tb0ne]

Agreed with Jazz, discussing and being involved are two seperate things. Then there is innocent until proven guilty (which doesn't exist in the media).

I don't see how Gretzky should have be expected to betray a friend and to go to the police because that friend was running an illegal gambling operation that doesn't bet on hockey (not saying he's guilty, just discussing the scenario). Knowledge of the operation or not, it doesn't change the way I think about the man, infact I might have thought less of him had he been the one who went to the police.

 

[Unholy Diver]

ESPNNEWS says there will be a news conference following the Yotes and Stars game tonight

 

[Canadian Game]

There is no way that Gretzky should step down? What did he really do wrong (if he's guilty)? The betting scandal (from what they've said so far) were on bets placed on NBA and NFL games and it was not on hockey games. Yeah, if it's all true, they broke some laws, but is that as bad as sexual assault (Bryant), murder (Danton), vehicular manslaughter (Heatley)? Hell no! It was betting on sports and possibly having his wife place the bets on his behalf. Yes, they are hefty penalties to face, but why should everybody be so up tight with it? The more people make a fuss out of it, the worse it looks on the NHL. This is the NHL's icon! This thing has already been surfaced for 2 days and I'm already sick of this news story because it's already old. Today I got stopped in town by a news reporter and they asked me my opinion on it. I'm now in the news paper because I tried to down play it do my part in countering the hype rather than make a big deal out of it.

Move on and let him do his job.

/rant

 

[hfboardsuser]

If I had a million dollars I'd bet a every single one of you has made a money bet at some point in their lives. I'm not saying this is nothing, but this isn't also something to ruin all of that over.

The big difference that A LOT of people don't seem to understand is that's it's not as simple as $50 on the Bowl. It's six figures on the Steelers, and oh yeah, your bookie has a crooked State Trooper on his side and maybe has ties to the Bruno-Scarfo crime family.

Edit: And okay, Gretz is no big deal to Team Canada since the team's already been picked. If that's what you want to stick to, then why is it a big deal if Gretzky resigns?

 

[Gump_Wamsley]

1. The media stretches the truth and also only gives us PART of the story, I trust no media source at the momment.

2. Wayne stepping down would be a like a nuke going off, it'd be mayhem and it's also highly uncalled for. People are making this whole thing much bigger than it is. If I had a million dollars I'd bet a every single one of you has made a money bet at some point in their lives. I'm not saying this is nothing, but this isn't also something to ruin all of that over.

3. I agree that the story of Wayne talking about it could be lies, so we'll see until more information shows up.

4. You guys need to think this through logically and realistically before posting.

1. I agree, every initial media report should be taken with a grain of salt.

2. Step down? I agree....no....that's too early to call. Yes, I've placed many bets on many sporting events so....i can't judge, morally at least

3.Well, that kinda ties into your first point......

4. I am thinking logically. Think about this on your own........The two people that Wayne probably spends most of his time with, just logically thinking, would be his assistant coach in professional terms, and his wife in personal terms. Sound logical? Is Wayne THAT INCREDIBLY NAIVE, that his asst coach AND his wife MIGHT be implicated in a betting scandal......and he is totally unawares? Or, might be unawares? Or, might have been taped saying this and that? C'mon, I know it's early and the story is still breaking to us public folks but......please.

and finally

5. Amazing how all this is breaking out, during the week leading up to the opening ceremonies of the Turin Olympics. Coincidence? Probably a coincidence. But, the only sport that has professional players taking part in an amatuer event in these olympics, has just been dealt a major black eye. Couldn't have happened at a worse time.