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The Trials Of Dany Heatley
by SENShobo on 11/20/08 at 11:57 AM ET
Comments (4)
From the Globe and Mail, a detailed look over Dany Heatley’s successes and challenges,
They may never call him “Captain Canada” — but they will certainly call on him.
Come the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Dany Heatley is as good a bet as any to be the hero who helps Canada regain the treasured gold medal in men’s hockey — an incredible journey for a young man who, only five years ago, was at the centre of a tragic accident that cost a close friend his life and might have cost Heatley his career.
That sad shadow — some based on fact, some on innuendo and some on falsehood — has largely lifted, and though the Ottawa Senators’ forward remains media shy and reluctant to talk about any of it, his postaccident accomplishments have come to speak for themselves.
It is still a shock to me how poorly some treat him.
I have time and time again run into fans (sadly they are commonly Toronto fans continuing this disturbing trend) who will call Heatley a dirty, disgusting player, and many other things that I choose not to remember or repeat. I can understand calling Alfie dirty for memorable and questionable (if rare) incidents, such as against the Leafs’ Tucker and the Ducks’ Niedermayer.
But Heatley? Here is Canada’s leading scorer in world play, a player who has averaged nearly a goal every other game (231) and better than a point per game (489) in his 443 NHL games with the Thrashers and Senators, not to mention how some parents must love him for taking the college scholarship route, showing future NHLers that you can succeed without sacrificing your education. He even donated the truck he won as All-Star game MVP (youngest player to score four goals there) in 2003 to a friend, and left his MVP trophy behind.
“He is only going to good things for our league,” fellow all-star Jeremy Roenick marvelled on national television. “He’s a better person than he is hockey player.”
The one, only, and glaring tarnish on the man is his well publicized and all-too-often oh-so-poorly fact-checked crash in September of 2003, now just over five years ago. That incident destroyed his Ferrari, with purported images of the wreck circling the internet, but infinitely more devastating was the loss of teammate and friend Dan Snyder that tragic night, no memory does he have of the incident.
Blood alcohol was suggested as a factor,
but tests showed Heatley had a negligible blood-alcohol level of less than .015 per cent, not even remotely near the state legal limit of .08 per cent.
....
Experts hired by both defence and prosecution determined the speed was more in the order of 57, 58 mph — still over the limit, but far from what had been reported. Crash experts suggested the tire marks indicated another vehicle, or perhaps an animal, had contributed to the crash.But Heatley wanted nothing to do with a trial that would require everyone going through it all again. He was also anxious to avoid any lawsuit that might arise and came to an understanding with the Snyder family that it was best for all to move on.
In many ways, Heatley was fortunate that Snyder came from such a family. Graham Snyder even stood in court and asked for clemency. “We forgive,” he said, “because Dany has shown remorse to our family.”
To this day, Heatley appears with Dan Snyder’s parents at charity golf tournaments to support a new hockey rink in Dan Snyder’s name. Whether in a court of law or a family’s home, taking responsibility for one’s actions and forgiveness rank higher than virtually anything else.
“Did the league find someone transcendent,” one U.S. publication asked, “someone who can break out of a provincial pocket and make all of North America notice, as Gretzky and Lemieux did?”
That was asked, of course, before the incident, and Heatley has become more reserved. It seems shocking to me that despite taking responsibility, being forgiven by Snyder’s family, and continuing to set a great example as an NHL player, certain fans can’t forgive him or won’t let him forget. Parents will coddle their children, friends vow to help each other through their struggles, even in cases as tragic or worse than this, and yet somehow, Dany Heatley seems to be outside the realm of human caring, empathy, and emotion. Darren McCarty in Detroit battled against alcohol troubles, and upon beating back his demons and returning to the NHL the fans welcomed him back with open arms in light of his personal struggle.
On the ice, players seem to transcend what is possible, and through the camera’s lens onto over a million televisions they appear larger than life. But they are the same as you or I, people doing what they love, people who can make mistakes and be hurt, and who can return from facing adversity to be stronger than they were before. It’s time for fans to start admiring and respecting these struggles, and championing these successes, for they remain the essence of the human struggle, and in overcoming them, learning from them, but never forgetting them, the pinnacle achievement of what it is to be part of humanity.
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Comments
What happened was a tragedy, but what concerns me to no end is how demonized he still is.
Yes, ‘getting off’ with three years probation and 750 hours of community service is nothing compared to time in prison. But he is demonized for what I can only assume is his NHL player status. I know that if I were in the same situation, only it was a honda civic, and any one of my friends and I, whichever one of us was driving and whoever was lost, there would be support from friends, family, and the community for the survivor and culpable party, regardless of whether or not zero or excessive alcohol was consumed, whether or not an attempt made to avoid a collision with another car or if it was a most brainless of joyrides.
Compassion is what I do not see, and am most saddened by, compassion that I feel would be given to countless others in this situation. Compassion that would help bring Heatley back to the more exuberant, joyous ambassador of the NHL he was before the accident, seen throughout the League and media.
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 11/20/08 at 02:13 PM ET
“But he is demonized for what I can only assume is his NHL player status. “
I am not really sure what that means, but I can take a guess. If it is that he is not loved all over Canada, could it possibly be that he plays in Ottawa and Leaf fans will “demonize” any Senator???? I mean the reality is, very few players are “idolized” across their respective leagues. Hell, Gretzky used to get booed at games, and I don’t think that’s because he was hated personally, I think it’s the nature of sport. If, in the alternative you are referring to his status amongst his peers, players, coaches etc, then I am not sure what to think. I would be surprised if his teammates weren’t extremely supportive same with coaches and management. I guess the odd circumstance could be that he did kill another player, a teammate. This isn’t so dissimilar to when one player severely injures another. The PA always has supported the wrong doer and not much is said about the injured (obviously the roles reversed here, but I am sure you understand the comparison) From a playing perspective, I think if he continues to excel as a player and is able to take his team to elite levels he will be a superstar in his own market and regular contributor in all star games and olympics....
“there would be support from friends, family, and the community for the survivor and culpable party, regardless of whether or not zero or excessive alcohol was consumed, whether or not an attempt made to avoid a collision with another car or if it was a most brainless of joyrides.”
I know what you are saying, but you never really know how the situation is going to turn out in each case. I think he is really, really lucky that the Synders have behaved in the way they have. I don’t think by any stretch that this is the normal reaction. I truly believe that when a death of a child is involved all bets are off. I personally know of too many cases where, former best friends, neighbors, loved ones can’t look at one another as a result of a simple non intentional injury, the pain is just too difficult. In the majority of these types of cases you will find that the grieving family needs to blame someone and the only one to blame is the faultless yet tremendously unlucky “defendant”. Nasty criminal and civil litigation ensues, and the lives amongst those still living are “hell”. Considering his current status, it is hard to feel “badly” for him, he easily could be in jail, or ostracized by the Snyder family.
Posted by torontosportsmedia from toronto on 11/20/08 at 03:04 PM ET
By “NHL player status” I was suggesting that, in my opinion, most individuals are given more compassion than he has received, especially in light of the Snyder family’s own forgiveness of him.
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 11/20/08 at 03:13 PM ET
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Fully addicted to hockey, Andrew Dodds finds it safe to live in the alleys, considering his allegiance to the Ottawa Senators in the middle of Leaf County. He tries to bring you as many worthwhile Sens stories as he can find, along with his musings on the team and the NHL in general; musings indeed since he is but a humble hockey hobo.
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“I have time and time again run into fans (sadly they are commonly Toronto fans continuing this disturbing trend) who will call Heatley a dirty, disgusting player, and many other things that I choose not to remember or repeat. I can understand calling Alfie dirty for memorable and questionable (if rare) incidents, such as against the Leafs’ Tucker and the Ducks’ Niedermayer.”
I have no issues with him as a player.. He is an amazingly talented player, one of the best in the league. I don’t know him personally, so I can’t even say I dislike him. What I can say is that in the grand scheme of things, he got off easy. He very easily could be in jail, and likely would be if it weren’t for an amazing victim’s family. I know, the grief he will have to live with, and the pain he feels, however the reality is while behind the wheel of a vehicle, he was responsible for the death of his passenger. In comparison to Synder and his family, Heatly is very, very lucky irrespective of what anyone calls him… Again that doesn’t diminish for one second that he is one hell of a hockey player
Posted by torontosportsmedia from toronto on 11/20/08 at 01:50 PM ET