Theo Fleury Finally Admits He Was Sexually Abused

[slowandeasy]

According to an article in The Toronto Star Fleury admits that he was abused by his former coach Graham James when he was 13. I don't know why he did not support Sheldon Kennedy when he admitted the abuse.

For some reason, I now find Fleury's admission to be more a promotion to sell his new book than anything else.

I now think that his attempted "comeback" was more about publicity for his book.

 

[Brill]

Talking about sex abuse is difficult, there's a lot of shame and self loathing. His problems with drink and drugs were a direct result of his problems.
I wouldn't judge him, he needs support for going public. Same with Mackenzie Phillips, I noticed a lot of cynical people saying it was all about book sales.

 

[plyrs99]

According to an article in The Toronto Star Fleury admits that he was abused by his former coach Graham James when he was 13. I don't know why he did not support Sheldon Kennedy when he admitted the abuse.

For some reason, I now find Fleury's admission to be more a promotion to sell his new book than anything else.

I now think that his attempted "comeback" was more about publicity for his book.

you are being an asshole, sorry to say it.

if the roles were reversed, how quick would you have been to admit to the sexual humiliation fleury was forced to endure as a child? you ever played hockey? been in a dressing room? seen the ramped up testosterone? the NHL breeds a society that would have eaten him up, and then spit him out. if he had spoke out earlier, he would never have made it to the league, as they do tend to protect their own. look no further than how an asshole like frost is being protected! ask sheldon kennedy what it has done to him, just in terms of his hockey career! having played hockey with a few guys who were just suspected to have played for the "wrong" team, the taunting and ridicule was completely unbearable and intolerable for them, most of it coming from their own teammates. there are no topics off-limit on the ice either, no matter how distasteful and out of place they may be, i have heard them all.

theo has finally made peace with it himself, got himself straightened out, and feels comfortable doing it through a book. there is no self-promotion going on, give me a break. i do not think his comeback was done for just publicity either. i think he did it for various reasons, among them to see if he could still do it after he had cleaned himself up, and for closure.

read his book, see the hell he went through, all because of the actions of another person. self-promotion my arse!

your posts are usually pretty damn good, so i am surprised by your comments, and why you would even think it.

Plyrs99

 

[slowandeasy]

you are being an asshole, sorry to say it.



Plyrs99

You have the right to express your opinion, so don't be sorry to say it. I was not trying to be an asshole about it.


All your points were valid, but it seems you are focusing on a different thing than myself.

First, I am not talking about him Fleury admitting to this when he was a rookie, or admitting it when he was 14 years old. I am talking about when
Sheldon Kennedy admitted it. Without being too hard on Fleury, Kennedy went thru hell by himself, and Fleury distanced himself from that problem. I can't imagine how difficult it was for Kennedy to do this, and still have the one person who knew what he went thru to deny the problem.

 

[slowandeasy]

theo has finally made peace with it himself, got himself straightened out, and feels comfortable doing it through a book. there is no self-promotion going on, give me a break. i do not think his comeback was done for just publicity either. i think he did it for various reasons, among them to see if he could still do it after he had cleaned himself up, and for closure.

read his book, see the hell he went through, all because of the actions of another person. self-promotion my arse!

your posts are usually pretty damn good, so i am surprised by your comments, and why you would even think it.

Plyrs99

As I said I was not questioning his decision to finally admit the problem. I am questioning his attempted comeback as a publicity stunt for his book.

I was a Fleury fan who cheered for him from the days he was a Moose Jaw Warrior, I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I am not so sure.

 

[slowandeasy]

Talking about sex abuse is difficult, there's a lot of shame and self loathing. His problems with drink and drugs were a direct result of his problems.
I wouldn't judge him, he needs support for going public. Same with Mackenzie Phillips, I noticed a lot of cynical people saying it was all about book sales.

What about the people who want Roman Polanski exonerated for his crimes.

 

[Brill]

What about the people who want Roman Polanski exonerated for his crimes.

I don't get the connection.

 

[new2game]

that bastard Graham James...

....should be thrown into a pit and stoned....too much leniency for pieces of human garbage like him...


N2G

 

[BallzDeep]

Pretty good interview tonight on OTR with a few good lines. He was asked what was the difference between him and Sean Avery, he said about 800 points and six championships. Thinks it's on at midnight again.

 

[colt]

You have the right to express your opinion, so don't be sorry to say it. I was not trying to be an asshole about it.


All your points were valid, but it seems you are focusing on a different thing than myself.

First, I am not talking about him Fleury admitting to this when he was a rookie, or admitting it when he was 14 years old. I am talking about when
Sheldon Kennedy admitted it. Without being too hard on Fleury, Kennedy went thru hell by himself, and Fleury distanced himself from that problem. I can't imagine how difficult it was for Kennedy to do this, and still have the one person who knew what he went thru to deny the problem.

It may well have made it easier for Kennedy if Fleury had stood beside him but to condemn Fleury for not standing up when Kennedy did is to really demonstrate a complete lack of understanding and compassion for the devesstation Jame's abuse inflicted on Fleury.

Lets recall a little bit of history:

- Kennedy came forward in Sept 1996
- In Sept 1996 Kennedy had spent 7 years in the NHL,
- 1996 was pretty much the height of Fleury's career, or very close
- by 1999 Fleury was in the NHL's substance abuse program and bounced in and out of it until the end of his career
- the fact that Fleury managed to avoid the program until 1999 does not mean that he was not fully immersed in booze and drugs and self hatred for several years before that
- I would never presume to tell anyone that there is a time when they should disclose something as traumatic as sexual abuse
-In Fleury's case, he was at the top of his career, and the fact is, there were whispers that he had also been abused by James - can you imagine what he was going through when Kennedy made his announcement? Do you think he ever feared being identified and what impact it might have on his career? I would be shocked if he did not lay in bed in a cold sweat at night after Kennedy made his announcement wondering if his career was about to be pulled out from under him.

I have seen a few journalists take the same shot at Fleury that you just took and have to shake my head. The guy was on the top of his game in 1996, earning 7 figures a year and going through god knows how many levels of mental hell - but he was supposed to find his way to stand beside Kennedy and then walk back into an NHL dressing room and skate back into the corners and the goal crease scrums where, as has been pointed out above, nothing is off limits.

As for Fleury's comeback attempt - I have not heard a single person close to the Flames say that Fleury gave anything less than a miraculous effort. And if he did use the comeback attempt to set the stage for his book to be released .... so what, the guy is never going to escape what James did to him and he is entitled to leave the league as a good guy as opposed to a drunken washout.

 

[pencilneckgeek2]

Well said !

It may well have made it easier for Kennedy if Fleury had stood beside him but to condemn Fleury for not standing up when Kennedy did is to really demonstrate a complete lack of understanding and compassion for the devesstation Jame's abuse inflicted on Fleury.

Lets recall a little bit of history:

- Kennedy came forward in Sept 1996
- In Sept 1996 Kennedy had spent 7 years in the NHL,
- 1996 was pretty much the height of Fleury's career, or very close
- by 1999 Fleury was in the NHL's substance abuse program and bounced in and out of it until the end of his career
- the fact that Fleury managed to avoid the program until 1999 does not mean that he was not fully immersed in booze and drugs and self hatred for several years before that
- I would never presume to tell anyone that there is a time when they should disclose something as traumatic as sexual abuse
-In Fleury's case, he was at the top of his career, and the fact is, there were whispers that he had also been abused by James - can you imagine what he was going through when Kennedy made his announcement? Do you think he ever feared being identified and what impact it might have on his career? I would be shocked if he did not lay in bed in a cold sweat at night after Kennedy made his announcement wondering if his career was about to be pulled out from under him.

I have seen a few journalists take the same shot at Fleury that you just took and have to shake my head. The guy was on the top of his game in 1996, earning 7 figures a year and going through god knows how many levels of mental hell - but he was supposed to find his way to stand beside Kennedy and then walk back into an NHL dressing room and skate back into the corners and the goal crease scrums where, as has been pointed out above, nothing is off limits.

As for Fleury's comeback attempt - I have not heard a single person close to the Flames say that Fleury gave anything less than a miraculous effort. And if he did use the comeback attempt to set the stage for his book to be released .... so what, the guy is never going to escape what James did to him and he is entitled to leave the league as a good guy as opposed to a drunken washout.

Well said, colt.

 

[Aardvark154]

It is disgusting and horrible that someone in a position of trust would do this to those just entering their teens! At least Graham James served time, although three years incarceration was far too little. However, in some ways even worse were his efforts to persecute and attempt to ruin the hockey careers of those boys who fell from his grace.

 

[stelco]

Theo

Saw him on Fifth Estate tonight. Seemed very candid to me, a straight shooter. I'll buy and read his book. I agree with COLT's comments above, I'm sure he took some stick while he was playing but why would he bring it out while at the top of his game. As Theo admitted, it did catch up to him. He was near the leader board in NHL while he was pulling all nighters, champion! Hopefully, I'll catch up with him some day and hear his stories, the good ones. Sounds like he was the Georgie Best of hockey while in NYC I wish him all the best and thanks for bringing the GOLD to Canada.

 

[slowandeasy]

It may well have made it easier for Kennedy if Fleury had stood beside him but to condemn Fleury for not standing up when Kennedy did is to really demonstrate a complete lack of understanding and compassion for the devesstation James abuse inflicted on Fleury.

First, condemn is a very strong term for how I expressed myself regarding Fleury. "A complete lack of understanding and compassion etc.. ", shows that you failed to read everything I wrote. Perhaps we simply view the world from different perspectives etc..

Before I go on, I am not dismissing the terrible impact of James' abuse on Kennedy, Fleury and maybe even Joe Sakic. I think your outrage should be directed to the laws or judges or whomever let James out of prison in 3 1/2 years, or the people that failed to put a guy like David Frost in jail. I think that at some point we will hear Mike Danton finally admit that he was abused.

Back to Fleury. I understand having compassion for someone who has gone thru a hard time. The problem with this type of attitude is that nothing every gets done, and we continue to make excuses for people's behaviour. (Pay attention now, because this is actual condemnation of Theo). I believe that a true test of a person's worth is when that person helps another at a risk to them. Fleury watched a friend and teammate go through hell and he could not.. no that should be WOULD NOT help him. He left Kennedy to swing in the wind, thru the accusations, court trials, testimony, and then left some in the hockey world to wonder if Kennedy really did like it, since no one else came forward about their abuse. Theo has not brought any of this out until he had published a book about his own personal demons. Oh, and by the way, he will probably make a heck of alot of money on this new book.


Geez, I wonder how Sheldon Kennedy is doing?

 

[slowandeasy]

It may well have made it easier for Kennedy if Fleury had stood beside him but to condemn Fleury for not standing up when Kennedy did is to really demonstrate a complete lack of understanding and compassion for the devesstation Jame's abuse inflicted on Fleury..

This post shows what is wrong with the way people think in our world.
You have a great deal of compassion for the guy who does nothing. Where is the compassion for Kennedy? "It may well have been easier...." Are you a defence lawyer? That statement is quite ridiculous, and demonstrates a complete lack of compassion for the devastation James' abuse inflected on Kennedy. When you have the opportunity to stand up for a friend you do it. There is no doubt that Kennedy would have been helped if Fleury had come forward.

Lets recall a little bit of history:

- Kennedy came forward in Sept 1996
- In Sept 1996 Kennedy had spent 7 years in the NHL,
- 1996 was pretty much the height of Fleury's career, or very close
- by 1999 Fleury was in the NHL's substance abuse program and bounced in and out of it until the end of his career
- the fact that Fleury managed to avoid the program until 1999 does not mean that he was not fully immersed in booze and drugs and self hatred for several years before that
- I would never presume to tell anyone that there is a time when they should disclose something as traumatic as sexual abuse
-In Fleury's case, he was at the top of his career, and the fact is, there were whispers that he had also been abused by James - can you imagine what he was going through when Kennedy made his announcement? Do you think he ever feared being identified and what impact it might have on his career? I would be shocked if he did not lay in bed in a cold sweat at night after Kennedy made his announcement wondering if his career was about to be pulled out from under him.

Tell me something I did not know, this is all about Theoren. When does a persons obligation to help his fellow man, or to do the right thing trump his desire for glory and fame???

I have seen a few journalists take the same shot at Fleury that you just took and have to shake my head. The guy was on the top of his game in 1996, earning 7 figures a year and going through god knows how many levels of mental hell - but he was supposed to find his way to stand beside Kennedy and then walk back into an NHL dressing room and skate back into the corners and the goal crease scrums where, as has been pointed out above, nothing is off limits.

Obviously this is a sensitive topic for you. I can't speak for what journalists have said or done, but I did not initially take a "shot" at Fleury.

As for Fleury's comeback attempt - I have not heard a single person close to the Flames say that Fleury gave anything less than a miraculous effort. And if he did use the comeback attempt to set the stage for his book to be released .... so what, the guy is never going to escape what James did to him and he is entitled to leave the league as a good guy as opposed to a drunken washout.

I did not expect Fleury to do anything less than work his ass off to try to make the team. I simply raised the questions.

 

[SenualTouch]

thoughts

Just because Fleury didn't come out publicly at that time doesn't mean he didn't reach out privately to him. Also, I am not a psychologist, but perhaps there is something to the fact that they were both victims of the same tormentor during the same basic timeline that would mentally not allow him to support Kennedy at that time (especially since he had not been in treatment, for all we know).

As for not coming out sooner because of all the crap he would take as a result of it, doesn't fly with me. The hockey world is small. This was a known fact for a long time - that's why you don't hear shocked statements coming from anyone involved in the game because it was not a bombshell.

Finally, what will also not be a bombshell statement, as slowandeasy referred to, is if Sakic confirms what the insiders take as a given. If it is in fact true, it would be remarkable that he accomplished all that he did knowing he had to go through so much with the bus crash killing his teammates and a sexual assult.

 

[slowandeasy]

Just because Fleury didn't come out publicly at that time doesn't mean he didn't reach out privately to him. Also, I am not a psychologist, but perhaps there is something to the fact that they were both victims of the same tormentor during the same basic timeline that would mentally not allow him to support Kennedy at that time (especially since he had not been in treatment, for all we know).

As for not coming out sooner because of all the crap he would take as a result of it, doesn't fly with me. The hockey world is small. This was a known fact for a long time - that's why you don't hear shocked statements coming from anyone involved in the game because it was not a bombshell.

Finally, what will also not be a bombshell statement, as slowandeasy referred to, is if Sakic confirms what the insiders take as a given. If it is in fact true, it would be remarkable that he accomplished all that he did knowing he had to go through so much with the bus crash killing his teammates and a sexual assult.

Great thougths.