An Alleged Felon Or A Cry For Help?

I have spent the last couple of days reading up on all the happenings in the ECHL's current labour battle with games having been postponed as of yesterday afternoon. Admittedly, I think Jason and I hit on all the topics on The Hockey Show on Thursday, and I know I wrote a lot about what seemed to be the major points of contention on Monday. Today, though, a new wrinkle emerged in the ownership ranks as it seems one team owner might be in a lot of hot water legally, and this could certainly affect the operation of one franchise named the Allen Americans. You may notice some additions to their logo above.

In 2023, former NFL linebacker Myles Jack became the new majority owner of the Allen Americans after retiring in August of 2023. This was a big moment as Jack became the first African-American owner of a professional hockey team, so it appeared he was working towards building a successful second career as he also bought minority stakes in the the Jacksonville Icemen and Savannah Ghost Pirates with the Zawyer Sports and Entertainment Group.

However, eight days ago, Myles Jack was arrested by the Frisco Police Department after officers responded to a Denton County, Texas residence for "a welfare concern". Upon arriving, the police officers heard gunshots from inside the residence, and Jack allegedly broke a second-story window and fell out of the residence through that broken window where he was taken into custody and transported to a neaby hospital for non-serious injuries related to his fall.

A search of the residence found no one else inside, so the police were forced to arrest Jack for "charges of deadly conduct, including the third-degree felony of discharge of a firearm and the Class-A misdemeanor of discharge of a firearm in certain municipalities." Jack posted the $100,000 bond to be released from jail, but the investigation by the Frisco Police Department continues.

What concerns me the most about this story is that Myles Jack was alone with a gun in his home early in the morning. This entire situation feels like the Junior Seau story where the former NFL linebacker took his own life after a gunshot wound to the chest. It was later found that Seau suffered from CTE according to "five brain specialists consulted by the National Institutes of Health".

I want to be clear that I'm not saying that Myles Jack is suffering from CTE, but the similarities between Seau's tragic ending and what Jack was doing last Friday are hard to ignore. The fact that both men played linebacker in the NFL is also a significant similarity.

Forget his ownership stakes in ECHL teams for a moment, but if Myles Jack is truly suffering from CTE he needs to seek help immediately. There would be other symptoms that may present about which we have no information - mood swings, memory fogginess, tremors or uncontrolled shaking - but it feels like the police's arrival at Jack's residence when they did may have averted a tragedy. After all, no one was in the house and he was discharging a weapon randomly - that alone raises suspicions on his mental state that morning.

My hope is that Myles Jack will have a thorough examination by a doctor with training in concussion treatments and CTE, but I suspect this won't even be considered by him or anyone in his immediate circle of advisors. It would seem that he's headed towards a felony conviction based on the evidence that the Frisco Police Department has shared, but I'll let the investigation conclude before issuing a ruling in the court of public opinion because it doesn't look good.

I may side with the players in this ECHL labour dispute, but it's hard not to have empathy for a guy who may be suffering quietly with CTE. I certainly could be wrong and he may have thought that playing with guns early on a Friday morning before the holidays was a good way to pass the time, but I'd rather be overcautious when it comes to CTE diagnoses. Getting checked is the only way to be sure.

Again, I hope that Myles Jack gets a thorough examination by a doctor because owning the ECHL's Allen Americans doesn't mean he needs to be part of the gun crime statistics that plague America.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!