Many fans “have not forgiven” Golden Knights G Carter Hart for his actions in the Hockey Canada sexual assault case, and he now “may well be the chief villain on a team of villains,” according to Kevin McGran of the TORONTO STAR. The five players were found not guilty in court of the 2018 incident, and Hart was the only player to testify. During a recent interview, Hart “walked away” when the topic was raised. As he was being interviewed, he “was flanked by two media relations people, one from the Golden Knights, one from the league.” They were “ready to end an interview if it got awkward.” His Stanley Cup Final media day interview also “had been cut short when questions headed toward the 2018 team.” Hart has “never addressed the trial” since returning to the league. McGran wrote it is understandable the Golden Knights do not “want to rehash Hart’s history during the Stanley Cup final, though it is puzzling that they haven’t really addressed it.” McGran: “Some will never forgive. Some will never forget” (TORONTO STAR, 6/8).
NO MIDDLE GROUND HERE: THE HOCKEY NEWS’ Siobhan Nolan wrote the reaction to Hart being two wins away from a Stanley Cup championship is “another reminder that legal resolution and public acceptance are not the same thing.” Hurricanes fans who chanted “No means no” during Games 1 and 2 of the Final “made that loud and clear.” The chants “were inappropriate” for some, but for others, they were “an understandable expression of reprimand toward a sport that has spent years struggling to convince people it takes sexual misconduct seriously.” When Hart takes the ice, many fans are “not simply seeing a goaltender.” Nolan: “They are seeing a test case, a symbol, a referendum on what accountability means in modern hockey.” What makes the situation “especially exhausting is that there is no consensus” (THE HOCKEY NEWS, 6/9).
LEAGUE’S STANCE IS CORRECT: A WINNIPEG SUN editorial on Hart carried the headline, “Acquitted Means Acquitted. The NHL Got This One Right.” The editorial stated if an acquittal is “not sufficient to restore a man’s standing, what is?” The editorial: “Holding Hart to a conduct standard the league abandoned decades ago is not principled. It is selective.” The NHL’s position “is defensible,” as Hart was charged, tried and acquitted. He did not play in the NHL for two years while the legal process ran its course and has now “returned to work.” The editorial: “Fans can boo whoever they want. That is part of hockey culture, and Hart is not above it. But demanding a ban is something else entirely” (WINNIPEG SUN, 6/7).
