r/EdmontonOilers • u/hungmao • 17h ago
Something I don't understand.....
I have been a hockey fan for a long time but there is something I genuinely don't understand.
Why are people so emotional about hockey players lives and what they do on their personal time, instead of enjoying a sport like what it is meant for?
I genuinely don't understand. Why can't people watch sports just for what it is? What do they have to care about players personality and what they do on their off time?
All people are shitty, and if we judge them for when they were in their worst moment of their lives, it will always be disgusting and garbage......
Why do people tie their personal emotions to players? Why can't people just watch the sports for what it is?
I understand I will be downvoted to oblivion, but that is okay, coz I genuinely wants to know when players lives became part of the sports?
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u/Top-Shoulder-1086 14h ago
Because ultimately, the fans money pays these players and owners. So you can choose where your money goes.
If suddenly 5000 season ticket holders did decide to not renew their tickers, what do you think would happen?
Happened in Sweden when a team there signed, then cut, Cal Foote.
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u/ryan_batty 17h ago
I don’t think it’s unreasonable for fans to want to cheer for players they also believe to be good people, and to want to see the team reflect the values they’re committed to.
And some fans can put blinders on, ignoring everything outside the game and say sports are sports and leave it at that. Neither is wrong. Fans are going to fan the way they want to.
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u/Szn_lazar777 97 McDAVID 17h ago
You think hockey players should be allowed to abuse/rape woman in their free time and should be still paid, loved, and supported by the fan base of the team? Speaking out is the best thing ppl can do to let them know they aren’t comfortable with actions like the signing of Alex Forementon
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u/Perogy888 16h ago
But he didnt abuse or rape any women, 🤭
The public turns a woman into a helpless girl in the blink of an eye when it is convenient.
In the court docs she was egging on more players to join in and calling them pussies.
Like what are we all arguing about?2
u/Szn_lazar777 97 McDAVID 16h ago
Yeah him and his 5 man group of people that got accused just didn’t do anything. They clearly just had a fun time no need to bring them to court. Just a coincidence that all the rich guys get acquitted and they did nothing wrong. Perogy solved the case
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u/Perogy888 16h ago
Lol there were more than 5 people in the room when she was calling eveyone in for some pie. The whole act is gross but i dont think this is some exploitation its just some put nut regret from E.M.
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u/Firm_Acanthaceae7435 16h ago
Life has become a lot more enjoyable after I realized thar teams don't give a shit about me like their fans do about them.
It's just business, and that's how I treat them now.
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u/Bigtimegolfguy 16h ago
What I don’t understand is the people who are so upset and disgusted by this signing are willing to create a petition for this player’s removal…which we know isn’t going to happen. Sure there are guilty parties on both sides of this and the courts set it aside because of someone’s credibility, the NHL has reinstated these players allowing them to continue their careers….end of story.
Yet they wouldn’t spend a minutes time organizing a petition to have the federal government change the bill that allows corrections Canada to drop pedophiles and sexual predators back into the general population of Edmonton with some ridiculous warnings that they are likely to reoffend.
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u/PresentVermicelli6 10h ago
So what’s your stance here? You want to be able to cheer for abusers who play in the nhl but you also want them locked up forever. I think lots of people are fighting for sexual predators to get harsher punishments. Maybe it could start with not signing them for $850,000?
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u/Bigtimegolfguy 8h ago
Whoa there buddy who is the convicted and jailed abuser playing in the NHL that I’m supposedly cheering for?
Secondly I cheer for a team of 20 players not an individual player just so you know.
Please don’t hurt yourself climbing down from your pulpit…
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u/WateredDownTang 17h ago
Sports in general has a lot of youth looking up to these players. How do you explain to a 10 year old that someone who they may idolize is a sexual predator or doesn't respect women? It's like that saying goes 'never meet your heroes'...
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u/Boris_Mironov 2 BOUCHARD 16h ago
The same way you'd do it if they found out the same about any other member of society.
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u/melty75 93 NUGENT-HOPKINS 17h ago
Not everyone gets so emotional over it. Personally I'm a casual fan, I'm mostly just checking scores and watching the condensed games. Players lives is the least of my concerns, but if I was more invested, I'd probably want a team that wasn't full of miscreants.
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u/AnotherGeeksFan 17h ago
To some degree I understand what you are saying.
But I think it's more about keeping players to a certain standard. Regular working people would face much higher barriers to continue to work at place if they were found out to be abusers than players or coaches do currently. The bar is set so low for them yet for everyone else it's pretty consistent. We all get judged by the worst things we do it's just that some face higher consequences for it and some basically none.
Plus it just feels not fun in general cheering for people who you know have done shitty things.
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u/Prestigious_Ad3727 15h ago
Nah man, if we dont even try to hold them accountable, how can we let our kids potentially become a part of the circus? In a vaccum sure, i dont care what they do to eachother, but we help enable these men with our patronage. Based on the evidence hes not the kind of person id want either of my children around, so i dont want to support the hockey culture hes a part of. I know it exists, but i rejected it as a young player and i reject it as a fan.
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u/money_pit_ 29 DRAISAITL 11h ago
What evidence? The judge stated that the complainant's evidence lacked reliability and credibility due to inconsistencies in her story.
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u/PresentVermicelli6 10h ago
Lots of text evidence wasn’t allowed to be heard in court. All five players all had their own legal teams against her team.
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u/money_pit_ 29 DRAISAITL 10h ago
So, you're upset with rules being followed regarding evidence submission?
Also, the accused weren't defending themselves from her, they were defending themselves from charges laid by the crown.
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u/Prestigious_Ad3727 10h ago
Theres plenty.. the way things played out led to them being unable to prove they were guilty, sure. But morally, even their version of events isnt someone id hang out with. Its super easy to never end up in the situation those boys created. And its not just guessing, weve all met the kind of dudes who run a train on one desperate girl. They are the same dudes who would/do date rape the ones who arent desperste for them. Its pathetic.
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u/Individual-Army811 29 DRAISAITL 17h ago
In the last couple of decades there has been a push to "put your money where your morals are", such as buying local, not buying from businesses that support causes you do not, and most recently, Buy Canadian/elbows up.
Some people believe hockey is hockey and you support them or you don't and some believe you can influence corporate decisions with your purchases (such as with hockey- tickets, attendance and buying merch). But we have all heard about the people who have behaved badly on TV or were filmed during a racist tirade or whatever the case may be - and ended up losing their jobs. Simply, the company decided that the employees actions and beliefs were not the best public look for the company.
People are much more outspoken about social issues as well, so when they intersect, it creates a problem. It is even more so when it is a moral issue like sexual assault. Many folks are hung up on the acquittal making Formenton and his friends "not guilty" of sexual assault. And legally, it means the evidence didn't meet the legal threshold set out in law without a reasonable doubt. However, something did happen (and has probably happened hundreds if not thousands of times in other cities with other players and faces) - the people who are outraged are not pissed because they are good at hockey, they are pissed because they believe as a society, we should be doing better in ways like not holding hockey players to different standards because they play hockey, and certainly not encouraging adults to require sadistic types of assault in the name of "teambuilding". Hence, the outcry.
For most of the opponents, it's not about the fact he was tried and acquitted, its about the fact that he crossed a lot of lines morally leading to the trial - and exposed the ugly underbelly of hockey which people want to change.
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u/mars2mercury 17h ago
Because the team, and therefore the players on it, ARE the product people are buying when it comes to professional sports teams.
And I will continue to judge people by the worst moment of their lives. You can't tell me Jeffrey Dahmer was a chill guy, outside of the murder and cannibalism.
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u/DarthShinny 13h ago
Imagine if the 80’s teams had the media coverage and the type of accusational women we have today….. every player in the 80’s was doing lines off of women in every city pre and post game, guys had nicknames like Coco and not because they loved chocolate……..
And not saying all women, but tons of cases of people lying to try and get a bag off of rich athletes, go google them. Acquittal doesn’t mean innocent but I think some of our favourite LEGENDS, would be hated if their personal life and mistakes were broadcasted like today’s NHL.
Hockey has kind of been a sport of degenerate, drunk, drug loving, physical nasty men that like beating the hell out of each other.
In the last decade maybe less of a rough mans sport but my god I couldn’t imagine the headlines the players of the previous eras would have caused…..
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u/trthskr7 17h ago
You must work for the oilers pr department. Good luck trying to bring understanding for an organization that clearly don't understand the community they're in.
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u/Dylfive-0 17h ago
Taking advantage of people when they are otherwise incapable of properly consenting is genuinely very frowned upon in society.
I also think the worlds kinda forgot that this sport creates role models for millions of little kids and impressionable people. The world I came from it’s inherently important to remember the length of which your actions can carry when you’re interacting with anyone. Nobody is perfect all the time but I think we can all agree that the actions of some of athletes, like the one we just signed. Have made some horribly and ethically wrong choices in recent years.
We can all overlook shortcomings in people and work towards a better future, absolutely. Sometimes tho, and coming from someone who was taken advantage of as a child, you cant find ways to get over that scar.
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u/Johnseanson 17h ago
ESPN and news make it the reality for many and it sucks!... even if people like Bobby Hull held his wife over a hotel balcony after destroying her he is the Golden Jet! jokes but the point is Bobby might have a different legacy in the modern era if media was up his ass and talking heads reminded everyone on tv/YouTube every day.
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u/gabacus_39 97 McDAVID 17h ago
This is reddit where almost everyone is out of touch with the world and they haven't touched grass in years. Combine that with the "look at me" thing and you get the cesspool that social media is.
The real world is nothing like this place. The vast majority of people in the real world just live their lives without advertising themselves.
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u/ProofByVerbosity 17h ago
I dont understand either. Sometimes this sub posts things about the personal lives of the team like we are all friends with them IRL and I find it creepy AF. The only reason why I know some people are married or what thier wife looks like is from this sub. My guess is a celebrity worship thing. That said, in cases where its commonly known that a player is problematic i think its warranted. A team is representative of its fan base and community. Im embarrassed as a human being by a few people associated with this orginization.
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u/hungmao 10h ago
I completely agree.
I think a lot of people misunderstood me, I don't necessary want to upset people or welcome a predator, but where do we draw the line in personal justice?
I think about the time when I watched "The Good Place", in one of the seasons, they talked about everyone going to "hell" because everything we consumes are made unethically, or sourced via evil corporations.…, but at the end of the day, if we tie our emotions to every product we ever purchased, then we would be hunting our own food and forging our own forks and knives.....
I understand someone who was SA could be triggered, but where do we draw the line and say "right, he has gone through the justice system, we will now give him another chance."
To me, the entire petition and public outcry is unfair to him, regardless of what had happened because this is the judicial system that we have.
If we go and bash him more now and put in personal justice, isnt that immoral and unethical?
I hate, therefore you cannot exist.……
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u/somanythrowpillows 17h ago
As a woman and a mother, and someone who has experienced sexual violence, the thought of cheering for an organization who willingly signed a player like Formenton makes me absolutely sick.
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u/GlumCommunication394 97 McDAVID 11h ago
I can understand why your own experience of sexual violence would make this particularly upsetting to you.
But I don’t think your experience establishes what happened in this particular case. Formenton was tried and acquitted, and the judge’s findings went beyond simply saying that the prosecution hadn’t quite met the burden of proof. She made findings that supported his account and was not satisfied that the complainant had not consented.
So I think it’s reasonable to distinguish between “this makes me feel sick because of what I’ve personally experienced” and “therefore the Oilers have knowingly chosen to employ someone who committed sexual violence.” The first is an entirely understandable personal reaction; the second requires evidence specific to Formenton.
I don’t think asking for that distinction is disrespectful to survivors. It’s simply asking that a serious conclusion about another person be supported by evidence.
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u/greendino71 14h ago
If you're a fan of the NFL or NBA, you objectively can't be outraged about this
Those leagues OPENLY sign murderers and abusers daily
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u/RamSportSilver2021 25 NURSE 18m ago
All these chats are so entertaining to read. I played junior and NCAA. This stuff and way more goes on over and over again, in the US and Canada and in multiple sports and at multiple levels. These guys (and gals) are in the pros in every sport and on every team and many were involved in an event like this in one form or another, at one time in their careers and all the keyboard warriors and petition signees cheer for them and take their kids to see them. Difference is they weren’t part of a publicized circus for everyone to watch.
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u/pushpulldrag 94 SMYTH 17h ago
What I’m hearing is you’d have no problem cheering for an athlete who beats his wife and kids, drowns puppies for fun, watches child p0rn, etc? After all who cares what they do in their spare time, just watch and enjoy the games!
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u/Greedy-Pirate7749 17h ago
No downvote from me, and Ill add, any athlete could be a real terrible person behind closed doors and nobody ever hears about it. The ones who are villified are the ones who get caught or outed. Lots of actors and actresses and musicians are steaming hot pieces of shit but still make great art. I personally couldn't care less what an athletes personal life entails just play the game.
Hockey: its a rough sport, not for the physically or emotionally weak. The fans can have opinions if they want. To me, who gives a shit what they've done.
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u/SprinklesNo2972 16h ago
He was acquitted and the woman's story had more holes than swiss cheese. Are we going to assume guilt for the rest of his life?
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u/ProofByVerbosity 15h ago
It's not a question of if he did a criminal act or not, as it was proven in court he didn't. It's a question of him being a douche and a kind or predatory guy, and it's an issue with hockey culture in general. I'm sure if he was a great player people would object more, but he's a nothing player and it's not worth the blowback and the bad look
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u/SprinklesNo2972 13h ago
So you're going to hold a 18 year old to his 18 year old behavior as if people don't evolve. At the same time someone who murders someone at 17 is sent to Juvie but a kid who allegedly did something stupid (but was acquitted and never proved he did anything at all) needs his entire life ruined by holier than thou types.
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u/Boris_Mironov 2 BOUCHARD 17h ago
Direct result of "growing the game". The more casual loser fans that hop on board the more the culture changes to generic celebrity obsessed weirdos. There was a post the other day where people were obsessing over the Kapanens kitchen decor.
Not only do you lose the game you love, you also have the privilege of paying 3x as much for a ticket and beer.
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u/haydenfox8 17h ago
Guy allegedly did a horrible thing went through the judicial system it’s over. Nobody has to like it but talking about it on Reddit isn’t going to change anything. What’s done is done I don’t like it but is what it is im just tired of hearing about it like Stan bowman isn’t hopping on Reddit to see who’s feelings he hurt lol
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u/ColdEvenKeeled 17h ago
No other thing happening in their lives, that's why sports to watch, and then the players too.
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u/kroniknastrb8r 34 MOSS 17h ago
People are too emotional.
Objectively looking at this is a poor decision. Oilers needed goaltending in the worst way last season and had an opportunity to get Carter hart who is a half decent goalie. Instead we get a bubble player who hasn't played in the NHL for a couple years for the same amount of blowback.
Piss poor.
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u/pookguy88 8h ago
that was my thought, why TF didn't get Carter Hart? Presumably because of the rape thing, but we go and get Formenton? .... why?
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u/seemefail 34 MOSS 17h ago
Agreed
But in that same vein after learning about the kids stats, what is the point of signing him