A week late on this, but it should be commented on that former NHL enforcer Ryan VandenBussche, whom yours truly interviewed a couple times in a previous life as the Simcoe Reformer's sports editor, is being sued for $10.2 million by an Ontario Provincial Police officer over "savage, vicious punches" allegedly thrown the post-bar scuffle on Canada Day that also led to criminal charges for VandenBussche.Without being sure of what the outcome of any civil or criminal court proceedings against VandenBussche will be, let's just say that for this writer, this is beyond the usual out-of-control jock saga. It is easy to, as the plaintiff's laywer, Selwyn Pieters, says, conjure up an "intersection between violence in sports and the extent to which that violence is morphed into the athlete's private life."
Maybe so, maybe not. VandenBussche screwed up big time, and now it's just a matter of how the legal proceedings turn out, how he handles the fallout and to what extent people inside and outside of hockey choose to judge him. You can probably hazard a guess the hockey fratertinity will look after him in the long term, perhaps with a coaching or scouting job somewhere. He made a mistake by putting himself in that situation outside the infamous Turkey Point Hotel, but that shouldn't mark him for life.
Related:
Bussche Party In Turkey Point (July 4)
That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.
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