Mailloux story goes on
Toula Drimonis encapsulates the problem with Logan Mailloux. If, institutionally, we keep turning a blind eye to actual crimes committed by young men because they’re just a kid, they made a mistake, let’s not ruin their career, then what about the victims, and what do other young men learn from this?
By all accounts, Mailloux wasn’t just acting in a drunken moment: he took pictures of a young woman performing oral sex on him, then circulated them with her identifying details. That’s not a hotheaded drunken mistake: that’s ice cold.
Justin Trudeau says the Canadiens’ selection of Mailloux shows lack of judgment as the team prepares a statement to address the issue.
Marc Bergevin should have read the room.
Ephrami 16:40 on 2021-07-27 Permalink
In some jurisdiction, they don’t turn a blind eye, they put them in a mentorship program that they need to graduate from that helps them get on the right path.
Blork 16:42 on 2021-07-27 Permalink
What a situation. The one thing Mailloux did right was try to renounce himself from the draft picks — that’s a sign that maybe he understands the gravity of what he did and is willing to take some knocks for it and to make amends. But no; he gets drafted to the Habs as a first pick. FFS!
There’s a middle ground in this. While Mailloux’s crime doesn’t warrant permanent cancellation as if he were a mass murderer or whatever, there needs to be a message that you suffer when you do stupid shit like that. Even if it’s just a year or two delay on getting your career going, that’s still a message. And that year or two is plenty of time to man-up and really come to an understanding of what you did and to maybe even do something about it, such as declaring that a percentage of your hockey income will always go towards some charity or other resource that helps victims of sexual assault. That’s how you grow up and make amends.
But no; instead he gets snapped up by the Habs in a first pick, against his wishes, and gets a “lady psychologist” thrown at him for good measure. As Drimonis says, the problem at this point isn’t even Mailloux, it’s the Habs management.
Joey 16:53 on 2021-07-27 Permalink
@Blork the more I think about it, the more I conclude that Mailloux’s “withdrawal” from the draft (if he truly meant to withdraw, wouldn’t he refuse to play wherever the Habs send him this fall?) was a cynical PR ploy to demonstrate some kind of remorse while actually making it acceptable for someone to draft him in the first round. It’s telling that his “apology” was rejected by the victim as insincere while his “withdrawal” continues to be heralded as exemplary of his late-arriving maturity.
Seems Bergevin hasn’t done much maturing of his own since 2010: https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/canadiens-bergevin-not-aware-blackhawks-sexual-assault-allegations/
Josh 17:09 on 2021-07-27 Permalink
A podcast I listened to in the wake of this made the point that the other major leagues (MLB, NFL and NBA) all have mechanisms that could have prevented this scenario. That’s to say, if he was in the NBA, and Mailloux had withdrawn from the draft, he would have had to do so formally, in a manner resulting in league regulations that would have actually prevented teams from picking him. Some very large number of players – I want to say it was in the 90s – actually did this a few days before the NBA draft. (Most were for entirely unremarkable reasons, like players who believe another year in college will benefit them when next year’s draft rolls around).
And anyone who watched the draft on Friday would have seen the very, very unhappy look on NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s face when the Habs made their pick.
All of this makes me think that by next season there will be a mechanism that ensures this doesn’t happen again.
walkerp 17:45 on 2021-07-27 Permalink
Is Mailloux’s potential actually that great, that it was worth it?
jeather 18:11 on 2021-07-27 Permalink
I think management are shocked that this one is the one who is causing trouble, because let’s be real, there are lots of problems with sexual assault by athletes and usually no one cares.
Tim S. 18:17 on 2021-07-27 Permalink
It seems 50/50 that he could be very, very good, or never make the NHL. See: https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/2021/7/26/22593157/logan-mailloux-draft-profile-scouting-report-montreal-canadiens-2021-nhl-draft-defenceman. I guess we’ll find out around 2026.
I’m not proud of the pick, but I think some of the blame goes to the NHL for creating a Prisoner’s Dilemma situation. Some team was going to take him.
jeather 18:17 on 2021-07-27 Permalink
To be clear, I don’t disagree with the people who think it was a terrible choice to pick him, it was.
walkerp 07:37 on 2021-07-28 Permalink
I don’t know hockey but I think it demonstrates a cultural indifference towards in the league and the Habs that they would risk this kind of PR fallout for a 50/50 chance draft pick. I suspect the NFL which is equally if not worse than the NHL, would have handled this very differently, not because they actually care, but simply because of team’s reputation and sponsor’s dollars.
Speaks very badly of the culture of the NHL and its fans, and sadly, Canada.
Tim S. 08:16 on 2021-07-28 Permalink
Well, many of the fans are complaining very loudly, so I wouldn’t throw them in the same basket as management. It would be nice if the backlash didn’t have to happen in the first place, but the fact that this has become a big deal is a good thing in itself.
Meezly 09:45 on 2021-07-28 Permalink
“If, institutionally, we keep turning a blind eye to actual crimes committed by young men because they’re just a kid, they made a mistake, let’s not ruin their career, then what about the victims, and what do other young men learn from this?”
Thanks for reaffirming this, Kate. I feel that the international attention on the Brock Turner trial and Oscar-winning movies like Promising Young Woman has helped in some way raising public awareness of institutionalized sexism.
Meezly 09:49 on 2021-07-28 Permalink
From the CultMtl article: “He’s only 17… he had too much to drink… he didn’t mean anything by it… his entire life shouldn’t be destroyed by one mistake… the girl is being vindictive…”
Sounds exactly like Brock Turner’s dad when he said, ‘A steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action’, because he felt his son should get probation instead of jail time for raping an unconscious woman.
Josh 11:22 on 2021-07-28 Permalink
walkerp: The other part in terms of his potential is that because of his off-ice problems, he was quite likely undervalued by many other teams. That’s to say, without the legal issues in Sweden, he likely would have been selected before the Canadiens picked at #31. So the Canadiens probably perceived extra value in getting a player whose hockey skills alone would warrant him being picked higher than this.
walkerp 15:28 on 2021-07-28 Permalink
Ah yes. Thank you, Josh. That explains so much.