A Second Chance To Walk Away

The entire saga surrounding former hockey player Ben Johnson seems to have come to its predictable conclusion today after the ECHL's Allen Americans released him from the contract he signed yesterday. Thanks to the intense swell of public backlash, the Americans seem to have reconsidered their statements on "second chances" for Johnson who is a convicted rapist that spent time in jail in Canada for his crimes as he's one again a free agent. I have taken great care on this blog to explain why some people seem to get them, but the pictured Ben Johnson and his wife, Kate, are quickly erasing any chance of him having a professional hockey career again.

First, we'll jump back to 2013 where then-Windsor Spitfires player Ben Johnson was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old and a 20-year-old in two separate alleged incidents. According to reports, "Windsor police say the 16-year-old victim identified the accused and says the alleged assault took place during St. Patrick's Day celebrations at a downtown establishment inside the women's washroom." Johnson denied the allegations levied against him, and the trial was set to take place in 2016 in Windsor, Ontario.

At that 2016 trial, "[t]he complainant testified she did not consent and the Crown argued she was so intoxicated that she wasn't capable of consent" while Justice Kirk Munroe, prior to handing down his conviction and sentence, told the then-22 year-old Johnson that "he found Johnson's testimony 'unbelievable' based on evidence provided by a sexual-assault nurse and multiple witnesses in the bar." Johnson is alleged to have forced oral and vaginal sex on the woman, leaving the girl bruised and vaginally bleeding after the encounter.

"You violated her. You injured her both physically and mentally," Justice Kirk Munroe told the former Windsor Spitfire during his sentencing. It was "forcible and criminal."

Judge Munroe ultimately sentenced Ben Johnson to three years in prison, noting in his sentencing that despite "all the things Johnson has going for him" - citing his age, this crime being his first conviction, his work ethic, and the support he had from his family and community, "[t]he weight to be given to this is diminished by the nature of the crime.” Just for balance the scales of justice, Judge Munroe also added, "This sentence is not to exact revenge."

Johnson appealed the ruling as "prominent Toronto lawyer James Lockyer" stated that "[t]he trial judge erred ... by improperly making a finding of fabrication," but the appeal was dismissed. As a result, Johnson was forced to serve his conviction, spennding one month in jail in Windsor and 12 months in prison in Kingston, Ontario.

To recap the above, Johnson committed a violent crime on a non-consenting woman, was charged and found guilty of that crime, appealed that crime and had that appeal dismissed by a court, and, ultimately, spent 13 months in Canadian jails for his crime. He also had to register as a sex offender in Canada, but I'll note that Canada and the United States don't share sex offender registries which is convenient for Johnson since he's living in his native USA once again.

He's tried to restart his career a few times over the last number of years. He spent 104 games with the ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones, 53 games with the Kansas City Monarchs, and the past three seasons with teams in Slovakia as he attempts to find some sort of hockey career once more. The ECHL's Adirondack Thunder signed him on November 18, took a metric ton of public backlash, and released him less than 24 hours later. He then proceeded told Mark Falkner of The Detroit News on December 19 that he had "learned lessons the hard way" and was seeking a second chance to play in the National Hockey League which, oddly, has teams on both sides of the border.

Johnson claims that he rediscovered his faith while sitting in a Windsor jail cell. He told Falkner about his experience, stating,

"I was weeping uncontrollably and I thought, 'What's going on in my life?' That's when I saw a book on the floor and on the cover it said, 'Redemption.' I started reading Genesis 37 and all of a sudden, I really understood that this book is alive and powerful. ... I know that God is speaking directly to my soul in this book."

Allow me to editorialize a little here, but part of my disbelief in this entire story is that usually there's some act of confession and repenting one's sins, and it seems like Johnson missed that part. This is a man who is still denying the conviction he was given, calling the events from the night of his crime "things that were alleged to have happened" in his story to Falkner. At some point, if he's seeking a second chance, he has to be accountable for his actions.

I talk a lot about earning second chances, and I truly believe this is applicable in life. One never gets a second chance to make a good first impression, and the public became aware of Ben Johnson through the details of his crimes during his count trial where he was convicted of raping a woman. That's the first impression the public has of him, and he's going to have wear that label forever until he takes accountability for his actions, shows growth through tangible learning and genuine change, and by keeping his mouth shut about the opportunities he feels he deserves. You don't any second chances, Ben, if you don't earn them. It's really that simple.

This entire ordeal now has me questioning the vetting that Americans General Manager Steve Martinson did when it came to signing Johnson. Martinson spoke about giving second chances, saying,

"Since Ben's incident when he was 18 years old, he has become a man of faith, a husband, and a father of two," Martinson had said in a statement.

"The easy thing for us to do would be to not sign this player, but we believe in second chances, and we believe Ben is a man committed to using his situation as a learning opportunity for others.

"In his time with both the Kansas City Mavericks and Cincinnati Cyclones in our league, Ben was regarded as a good teammate and someone that has reformed his life."

Using hearsay as justification for a second chance is hardly the evidence that Martinson should be seeking in this case. Yes, Johnson is married and has kids, but he was also married during the trial when he was convicted. How does that change anything when it comes to accountability, showing change, and being a better human being?

Of course, his chances of ever being contacted by an NHL team likely took a serious hit when he he wrote on Instagram last week, "When I look at the NHL, I see a league that has the image of unity and all inclusive but when I take a peek underneath the surface, what I really see is a league that is pro cancel and pro silencing."

Before getting too pious, I'd like to remind Mr. Johnson that all five men in the 2018 Hockey Canada trial are playing professional hockey somewhere right now. I'd like to remind him that all of Dino Ciccarelli, Geoff Courtnall, Neil Sheehy, and Scott Stevens played long careers in the NHL after they were accused of raping a 17 year-old in a limo. I'd like to remind him that Reid Boucher is still playing in the KHL after he assaulted a 12-year-old girl as a 17 year-old. I'd like to remind him that Evander Kane is still playing in the NHL after being accused of sexual assault. Twice. And there are more.

The NHL doesn't have "pro cancel and pro silencing" problem - it has a "do anything to win" problem. If Johnson was doing the work by educating himself about the crime he committed and being accountable for his actions, I'd give him an inch of leeway and say that the NHL does have a cancel culture when it comes to inclusivity. The NHL cancelled Pride Nights because of a few players speaking out. Now, there are no Pride Nights. There is no rainbow tape.

Those were cancelled despite the NHL trying to grasp every molecule of momentum off the TV show Heated Rivalry which features two gay hockey players. The NHL won't come right out and tell you that this show is helping to potentially bring in fans that they alienated with their short-sightedness, but this "image of unity and all inclusive" that Johnson sees is about as far from the truth as one can get.

Frankly, the Allen Americans stepped into a deep vat of manure when they signed Johnson because the backlash that the Adirondack Thunder took once month earlier should have been all the reasons why they needed to steer clear of signing Johnson. For whatever reason he can try to rationalize, Americans GM Steve Martinson wore his hip waders into that vat of manure, and they deserved all the backlash they took. Terminating the contract 24 hours later was the right move to make, but it won't wash the stink off the Americans or off Martinson. That will now take some significant time.

As for Johnson, take your baggage and your whining about cancel culture elsewhere. You're a 31 year-old convicted rapist. You're not some pariah that the hockey world is targeting. Any efforts to change that impression just got a lot harder with the whining about cancel culture when many men who have been accused of rape and/or sexual assault are playing professional hockey.

The difference between those players and yourself? You were convicted, Ben Johnson. Your appeal in that case was denied. Now, second chances will have all but dried up with this last outburst on social media, and you only have one person to blame for that.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!