Reports surfaced yesterday of Edmonton Oilers' owner
Daryl Katz paying an underage girl upwards of $75,000 for sex, as if there weren't enough unsavory headlines in the world of hockey right now. The exchange commenced in 2017 when the woman in question was 17 & Kats was 55. Katz is listed as a 3rd Party defendant.
In Benjamin Albright's initial reporting on the matter, he included a series of text messages between Katz & the woman in question, and fair warning; they are weird:
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The NHL has a lot on their hands at the moment. They currently have an open investigation into the Hockey Canada scandal, an open grievance with F
Evander Kane, and now they learn one of their owners allegedly paid a child for sex. The NHL released the following statement on the court filings regarding Daryl Katz:
"We became aware this week of the civil lawsuit in which Mr. Katz is named as a third party by the defendants in the lawsuit. Mr. Katz has advised us that he categorically denies the allegations. We are in the process of looking into the matter."
Daryl Katz's legal counsel, Robert Klieger, also released a statement today on behalf of his client:
Statement from Robert Klieger, legal counsel for Mr. Katz:
"Daryl Katz denies the allegations against him by Mitchell Taylor Button and Dusty Button without reservation. There has never been a sexual relationship of any kind between Mr. Katz and Ms. Humphries.
Critically, the allegations against Mr. Katz are not being made by Ms. Humphries. The accusations are instead being made by the Buttons, who Ms. Humphries and six other women have accused of exploiting
their position of power and influence in the dance world to sexually abuse young dancers across the country. Mr. Katz has never met the Buttons, and their false accusations against him are a transparent and pathetic attempt to distract attention from the abhorrent acts with which they stand charged.
Media considering this matter are encouraged to consider the background not only of the Buttons but also of their attorney, Marc Randazza, which is a matter of public record.
Mr. Katz will vigorously defend his reputation against these baseless and scurrilous claims and will seek sanctions and damages against both the Buttons and their counsel for this frivolous and malicious attack on his character."
Quite the incendiary statement from Katz's counsel. This likely will not be the last we hear of this debacle.
Normally, I would shy away from getting into it, but...does hockey have a cultural problem? There are a few too many scandals being exposed to not ask the question at this point. When asked if hockey has a culture problem, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman insisted that these issues are not specific to hockey. Instead, he feels these incidents are reflective or larger societal problems. But the sheer number of open cases at the moment involving former or current NHL contractees is concerning; former Canuck Jake Virtanen is currently in trial over sexual assault allegations, former NHLer Reid Boucher is facing charges under the same name, Hockey Canada's scandal is a dumpster fire, and now a sitting NHL club owner is in the midst of a court battle over sexual misconduct. A horrific look for the NHL & the sport of hockey.
P.C. (@AllbrightNFL)
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