Five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team are barred from the National Hockey League (NHL) even after an Ontario judge cleared them of sexual assault.Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Cal Foote were found not guilty. Justice Maria Carroccia ruled she could not rely on the complainant’s evidence and said the Crown had failed to prove non-consensual group sex took place in June 2018..UPDATED: Judge rules not guilty in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial for all 5 accused.Hours later, the NHL said the players “are ineligible to play” while it studies the 139 page decision. “The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behavior at issue was unacceptable,” said the NHL in a statement.NHL Players Association (NHLPA) fired back, calling the ban inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement. .“After missing more than a full season of their respective NHL careers, they should now have the opportunity to return to work,” said the NHLPA, adding it is challenging the league’s position.“The NHL’s declaration that the Players are ‘ineligible’ to play pending its further analysis of the Court’s findings is inconsistent with the discipline procedures set forth in the CBA. We are addressing this dispute with the League and will have no further comment at this time.”McLeod, Hart, Dube, and Foote were on NHL rosters when police laid charges in January 2024. .MAGA supporting Christian artist Sean Feucht faces more cancelled concerts across Canada.Their clubs granted them immediate leave and did not renew their contracts last summer.Formenton, an Ottawa Senators draft pick who has been playing in Switzerland, has been away from the league since 2022..During the nine week trial, the accuser, identified as E.M. under a publication ban, testified she was drunk and frightened when several players entered McLeod’s hotel room after she had consensual sex with him. Carroccia said she found “actual consent not vitiated by fear” and concluded the prosecution did not meet its burden.Acquittals are final, so any potential penalties are only with the NHL.NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said last year the league would withhold discipline until courts had finished. Thursday’s ruling leaves the NHL to decide whether a code of conduct violation occurred even without a criminal conviction and whether the five athletes will ever skate again for NHL teams.
