John Scott controversy: personal or business?

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Now featuring a different jersey compared to last week/ Resolute

Now featuring a different jersey compared to last week/ Resolute

Hockey player’s situation a confusing one

Written by: Britton Gray – contributor

The NHL’s annual All-Star Game has come and gone with the John Scott story being one that will last through the ages. Scott has even been approached about having a movie done about his life. Despite this, however, the John Scott situation has revealed something about sports that most people would prefer to not think about: at the end of the day, it’s a business above everything else.

The National Hockey League views the All-Star Game as a way to showcase their best talent for the world to see. It is one of their main events during the year and they want to keep it prestigious. Unfortunately, there has been a lack of interest in the game and in a way to drum up some fan support, the NHL included a voting system.

As a joke, Internet sites were getting behind the idea of voting for Scott in order to get a career fighter into the All-Star Game. With Scott leading the way in votes and wanting to participate, the NHL was forced into a corner.

This is where it gets ugly.

Rather than allow him to play, the NHL showed it’s true colours when it tried to do whatever it took to get him out of the game. They allegedly forced a trade that sent Scott to a new country to play in a lower-level league in order to help protect the “integrity” of their precious All-Star Game.

Also, Scott’s wife was expecting twins.

He wasn’t seen as John Scott: the player, the father and person; he was just seen as John Scott: the problem.

This is where it seems that the league doesn’t view their players as people, but as items that they use to sell their product. Scott wrote an article in The Players Tribune, which highlighted the ordeal that he went through and describes perfectly what it was like to have your entire life changed due to a higher power not feeling like you belong in their event.

It is important to realize that this sort of thing not only affects John Scott, but his family. His two daughters have to change schools and make new friends. He and his wife have to find a new house in St. Johns, Newfoundland.

While there is no direct proof that the league coordinated this deal to get Scott out of the game, the backtracking and strangeness of the deal leads us to believe that there may have been something sinister at work here.

The NHL viewed John Scott as a sign of disrespect toward their All-Star Game, but at the end of the day, the NHL came out looking even worse than it ever has before. In fact, John Scott made the All-Star Game interesting, which is something the NHL hasn’t been able to accomplish in years.

Of course, the machine keeps running and who knows whom the next victim of the NHL and their need to maintain the integrity in their sport.

But hey, it’s nothing personal, it’s just business.

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