The Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday suspended defenseman Ian Cole after he was accused on social media of grooming and sexually abusing a girl when she was a minor.
The Lightning stated the crew was absolutely cooperating with the NHL in an investigation and is making the choice to droop Cole because it gathers extra particulars.
“The Tampa Bay Lightning is conscious of the allegations in opposition to participant Ian Cole and are cooperating absolutely with the NHL on an investigation,” the Lightning stated in a press release. “Our group takes these allegations very critically. Whereas we proceed to assemble extra particulars, now we have determined to droop Ian Cole pending the outcomes of an investigation. No members of the group, together with gamers, will remark additional right now.”
The allegations had been made on Twitter by a person recognized as Emily Smith. The Twitter person posted a prolonged assertion. The tweet was despatched on Friday. The person solely has one tweet on the account.
The assertion particulars Smith’s alleged encounter with Cole when she was in highschool, and he had been “enjoying within the NHL for just a few years at that time.” Smith wrote Cole was “very nicely conscious” of how previous she was and stated she felt pressured into having intercourse with him. The assertion particulars occasions when Cole allegedly made “derogatory and misogynistic feedback.”
Smith claimed Cole “bragged” to one in all his teammates about “sexually assaulting me as a minor the primary night time we first met.”
“Ian felt emboldened to emotionally and sexually abuse me and different ladies as a result of the NHL fosters a tradition of misogyny,” the assertion continued. “The NHL wants to carry themselves and their gamers accountable for creating an enabling surroundings of misogynistic and predator habits. Those that defend his character are those who've enabled him to do that for thus lengthy, and know very nicely of his abusive habits towards ladies.
“Anybody who really is aware of Ian and the way in which he talks about ladies is not going to be stunned by any of this. Coming ahead as a sufferer of grooming and abuse is extraordinarily tough. It’s straightforward to have disgrace and blame your self, that you just ought to’ve identified higher, however then I do not forget that I used to be taken benefit of as a minor by a completely grown grownup man. As a teen, I didn’t even know what grooming was. Once you’re younger and this occurs to you, you don’t understand you're a sufferer.
“As I acquired older and constructed self worth, I began to totally perceive the extent of what occurred to me and that this might by no means have been consensual. I don’t suppose Ian ever anticipated me to have the braveness to talk out. It's painful to should relive it, however I hope that this encourages extra folks to talk out about their very own experiences of grooming and abuse. And I'm really pleased with myself that I'm lastly in a position to have the braveness to come back ahead with the reality.”
Cole, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, performed for the St. Louis Blues from 2010 to 2014, when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He performed for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes earlier than becoming a member of the Lightning within the offseason.
He’s received the Stanley Cup twice in his profession.
The accuser didn’t specify when or the place the alleged assaults befell.
Cole hasn’t responded to the allegations.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Invoice Daly informed The Related Press the league had launched an investigation. Daly stated the league had no prior information of the allegations till they surfaced on social media.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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