Graham James (ice hockey)
| Graham James | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 7, 1952 [1] Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
| Conviction(s) | Sexual abuse |
| Penalty | 3.5 years in prison |
| Status | Pardoned |
| Occupation | Ice hockey coach |
Graham Michael James is a former Canadian ice hockey coach for the Western Hockey League, and was named Man of the Year by The Hockey News in 1989 after coaching the Swift Current Broncos league championship win, and became the General Manager and coach of the Calgary Hitmen in 1994.
James attracted national attention two years later when Sheldon Kennedy and an unnamed colleague came forward to accuse him of sexually abusing them over a period of years as their junior league coach. James pled guilty and was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison.
After completing his sentence, James obtained a federal pardon and left the country, settling in Spain and Mexico. However in 2009, Theoren Fleury published a book alleging he too had been abused by James in the 1980s, which James again acknowledged as true. As of March 2012, sentencing has not been determined.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island on 7 February 1952, he played hockey until about the age of 18, when he stopped due to asthma attacks. He graduated from university, and worked as a substitute teacher in St. James-Assiniboia School Division 2, Winnipeg, Manitoba, and began his hockey coaching career.[1]
Between 1979 and 1983 he coached Junior A Hockey, including the Fort Garry Blues with whom he won the Manitoba provincial title. In 1984, he was head scout for the Winnipeg Warriors of the Western Hockey League, and recruited two future National Hockey League players to the team, Theoren Fleury and Sheldon Kennedy. The team later relocated to Moose Jaw as the Moose Jaw Warriors,[2] and in 1985 James was hired as head coach for the team.[1]
He was the coach and general manager of the Swift Current Broncos from 1986–1994, leading them to two WHL titles in 1989 and 1993.[1] The team also won the Memorial Cup in 1989, and in the same year James was named Man of the Year by The Hockey News, which has since been revoked by the magazine.[3] He was also coach of the Broncos when four of its players were killed when the team bus overturned on December 30, 1986.[citation needed] In 1994, James became the part owner, head coach and general manager of the expansion Calgary Hitmen, a new WHL franchise.[1] He resigned during the 1996-97 season and was replaced by Dean Clark.
[edit] Sexual abuse
In 1996, Sheldon Kennedy and another unnamed player came forward with complaints about sexual abuse they had suffered between 1984 and 1995,[3] and in November 1996, James was charged with sexual assault.[1] On January 2, 1997, James pleaded guilty to 350 sexual assaults against the two players, and was sentenced to three and a half years in jail. He was paroled in 2001.[1][3] The players referred to whomever James targeted as "Graham's new favourite." James was charismatic and consistently successful as a coach. Even during his investigation, he was able to secure character references from respected hockey people and former players. He claimed that his relationship with Sheldon Kennedy was consensual and it was not illegal or immoral.[4] James noted that he was a closeted homosexual, primarily attracted to males between the ages of 15 and 25.[5]
In 1999, a civil lawsuit against James, the Canadian Hockey Association, the Western Hockey League and other hockey organizations was filed by an unnamed victim of James and his parents. It was settled out of court in 2003.[1]
James was given a lifetime ban from coaching by the Canadian Hockey Association.[3] When the CHA learned that James was coaching in Spain, it complained to European ice hockey officials, and he was fired.[3][6] His subsequent whereabouts were unclear, though there were some rumours that he was living in Montreal.[3] In May 2010, he was located by a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation investigative reporter, living in Guadalajara, Mexico.[3]
In a memoir entitled Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story, retired NHL player Theo Fleury alleged that from the age of 14 James had molested him for years during his time on the Moose Jaw Warrior team.[3][7] On January 6, 2010, Fleury filed a criminal complaint with the City of Winnipeg police.[3][2] "I have been reflecting on this a long time," said Fleury. "I wanted to make the biggest impact on preventing this kind of thing from happening in the future."[2] Three more of James' former players have also filed police complaints; investigations have been made but no further charges have been laid as yet.[3]
[edit] Pardon
On April 4, 2010, it was revealed in the media that James had been issued a pardon by the Canadian National Parole Board in 2007. News of the pardon only came to light when an unidentified Winnipeg man brought an allegation of abuse against him. [8] The situation surrounding the pardon provoked outrage, and has led to proposed changes to the Canadian pardon system.[3]
On October 25, 2010, James was taken into custody at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He was wanted in Winnipeg on nine counts of sexual assault,[9] and was released on bail in December of that same year.[10]
[edit] New charges
On December 7 2011, James pleaded guilty to sexual assaults involving two of his former players, including NHL star Theoren Fleury.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 2012 in Winnipeg. The new charges arose from Theoren Fleury's autobiography in which he describes the abuse. [11]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Timeline: Graham James". Calgary Herald. October 10, 2009. http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Timeline+Graham+James/2087996/story.html. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
- ^ a b c George Johnson (2010-04-05). "Theo Fleury files criminal complaint against former coach". Calgary Herald. http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Theo+Fleury+files+criminal+complaint+against+former+coach/2442571/story.html. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Graham James found in Mexico". cbc.ca. May 13, 2010. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/05/12/graham-james-mexico.html. Retrieved 2010-06-040.
- ^ "CTV Edmonton - Another person files claim against former hockey coach". CTV News. April 5, 2010. http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100405/edm_james_100405/20100405/?hub=EdmontonHome. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
- ^ http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/03/03/graham-james-was-in-love-with-his-victims-forensic-report/
- ^ Graham James coaching in Spain, CBC News, April 26, 2001, Accessed August 11, 2007.
- ^ "Fleury tell-all book chronicles sexual abuse". CBC News. 2009-10-09. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2009/10/09/sp-fleury-tell-all.html. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
- ^ CTV: Graham James pardoned
- ^ Associated Press (28 October 2010). "Convicted sex offender surrenders". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=5734927. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ Associated Press (13 December 2010). "Coach charged with abuse out on bail". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=5914969. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ Herald News (7 December 2011). "Graham James pleads guilty to hockey player sex assaults". thechronicleherald.ca. http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/40362-graham-james-pleads-guilty-hockey-player-sex-assaults. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
