Normally this space is reserved for some less than serious thoughts on sports in general but this time around I thought I would spit out a few words on a subject which has left a sour taste in my mouth.
This past week the Manitoba Court of Appeal was the site of an appeal by the crown on the sentence handed to former hockey coach Graham James.
The crown argued handing a two-year sentence to a man who abused a number of young men dozens of times over many years is not right and more time should be added.
It would seem this would have been a no-brainer to the judge hearing the original case back in March but she bought into the story painted by James’ lawyer on how he is remorseful and is a changed man.
Right, and the coyote was never going to chase the roadrunner ever again.
James went through a mere 30 hours of rehab and claims he’s a better man. David Copperfield couldn’t pull off that illusion but James’ lawyers did and now the case is where it is at this point.
If there was some justice for the victims of this disgusting excuse for a human being then it went right through the judge’s left ear and out the right because anything less than the high end of sentencing for this man was a travesty.
You can almost bet anything coming back from the court in the next round will not be up to snuff.
James’ lawyer trotted out this gem last week saying his client really has changed because it’s been 15 years and his client hasn’t reoffended.
Translation – he hasn’t been caught doing what he does to young men but that is assuming this leopard can change his spots.
The lawyer also claimed James believed he was in a consensual and loving relationship with his players. So why did he threaten to destroy their hockey careers if they didn’t cooperate with his deviant behaviour?
If a person in our world ever deserved to get exactly what was coming to him, James is that person but sadly our justice system is more wont to hug a thug than deal with him in the appropriate manner which may involve a key to a prison door being tossed away – sort of like how he tossed away the promise of so many young men.
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