NHL teams
Scott BurnsidePierre LeBrun 9y

Debate: NHL reacts quickly to Slava Voynov domestic violence charges

Two-time Stanley Cup champion and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov has been suspended indefinitely by the league after he was arrested Monday morning on charges of domestic violence. Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun discuss the NHL's response.

BURNSIDE: Well, my friend, some disturbing news from the West Coast overnight as Redondo Beach police reported they arrested Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov on domestic abuse charges at a local hospital after neighbors complained of hearing shouting and crying. It is a reflection of recent events that as much attention was paid to how the NHL responded to the allegations as to the allegations themselves.

It’s no secret that officials in every other professional sports league have been watching the NFL's shocking mishandling of a series of issues involving its players -- most notably the domestic violence issues connected to former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and the attendant blowback from the public and sponsors. At that time, we looked at the NHL’s policy and safeguards vis-a-vis issues like domestic violence, and while there was never a suggestion that the league was immune to these kinds of events, there was a feeling that the league and its players were well-placed to deal with a situation like this when/if it arose.

Now the league is being put to the test, and the response was to immediately suspended Voynov from all team activities pending further investigation by the league and the unfolding of the legal process. While the league didn’t need the players’ association’s approval to suspend Voynov, we are told it did reach out to the union to say that this was the league’s plan moving forward once word began to spread of Voynov’s arrest in the early-morning hours Monday.

Again, I think it’s a reflection of how important it was to the league that everyone was on the same page when this news broke, especially given the colossal failures of the NFL. Were you surprised at the suspension and how things have unfolded thus far?

LEBRUN: No question as I exchanged emails with NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly that he agreed that the changing landscape in sports in the wake of events in the NFL was part of the league’s quick and stern reaction compared to a year ago when Semyon Varlamov faced domestic violence charges. (The misdemeanor assault charge against Varlamov was later dropped.) But -- and this is important -- Daly also said that the facts were different in the Voynov case compared to the Varlamov case. In other words -- and this is my own inference on what Daly said -- I think the league has already been shown enough evidence to support the indefinite suspension of Voynov while continuing its own investigation, the kind of evidence it didn’t have a year ago when Varlamov was not suspended.

You have to applaud the NHL here. The arrest happened around 1 a.m. local time in the L.A. area, and some six and half hours later, the NHL announced his suspension. That’s incredibly swift on the NHL’s part. Not being flippant at all, but it says a lot that the league was able to get the first word on this instead of having it broken first on the Internet.

BURNSIDE: Pierre, as you know, the league has a wide latitude in imposing these kinds of sanctions, and the fact they were enshrined in the new collective bargaining agreement coming out of the 2012-13 lockout ensures, at least in theory, that everyone knows where everyone else stands. Not long ago there were suggestions that the league should have a specific domestic violence policy, but I know from talking to both league and union officials that they felt the issue was adequately covered by language in the CBA and the educational and outreach tools available via the jointly administered substance abuse and behavioral health program, including a 24-hour phone line available to players and their families to discuss a host of issues. Due to his arrest, Voynov is automatically enrolled in the program.

The league seemed to be in lockstep with the players’ association and the Kings, who put out a release that I thought took the right tone insisting the incident was of “great concern” to the team and that they fully supported the league’s decision to suspend Voynov. As you noted, a year ago the league took a much different tack with the Varlamov situation, and they and the Colorado Avalanche were vindicated when prosecutors very quickly declined to take the charges forward. A moot point maybe, but it would be interesting to see how the league and the team reacted if those circumstances were presented now. I am guessing it would be markedly different given the cultural climate. If the NHL is getting praise for its swift and unequivocal reaction to the charges, it will be interesting moving forward to see what kind of punishment awaits Voynov as this case moves forward.

LEBRUN: The league acted well on this, but it's still a tough day for a sport that doesn’t often have to deal with this kind of thing. The fact that it happened to the team that is the reigning Stanley Cup champion also brings more attention to it. But if you know the type of men running the Kings -- from GM and president Dean Lombardi to president of business operations Luc Robitaille to coach Darryl Sutter -- they are stand-up guys who will do the right thing. Sutter’s job now is to refocus his club this week after such a shocking development. This is a very tight-knit team, this kind of thing will be hard to stomach for those players. There’s also an on-ice element to all this, the Kings losing a top-four blueliner, which will have a long-term impact on the team’s performance.

But most of all, my thoughts are with the victim of this domestic abuse incident. Far too many victims of domestic violence in this world. If we’ve learned anything from what’s transpired in the sports world over the past few months, it’s that people won’t stand for it no matter how big a name is involved. Thank goodness for that.

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