NHL has suspended player for 21 games for submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Jonathan Lemire
@JonLemire
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The NHL has suspended San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane for 21 games for submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.
2:51 PM · Oct 18, 2021

What a dumbfuck.

[Kingofalldems]

1. Seems to be in trouble quite a bit.

[ChubbyStar]

27. He is not popular on the team

Yes, I am a Sharks fan alas......

[PSPS]

2. Does he lose any of his ridiculous $6 million/year salary?

[gratuitous]

4. This seems like a serious enough offense

21 games would be slightly more than a quarter of the 80 game season, so that would work out to be a little more than $1.5 million. I'm guessing any endorsement deals will dry up, which can be a nice chunk of change. All that lost to avoid a free vaccination. Shrewd.

[al bupp]

7. Yes, they forfeit their salary

Which goes into the players' association emergency fund.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020%E2%80%9321_NHL_suspensions_and_fines#:~:text=Players'%20money%20forfeited%20due%20to,goes%20to%20the%20NHL%20Foundation.

[Bev54]

29. Good and hopefully they will not let him come home to Vancouver, if his family is still there

Needs to be vaccinated now, so he is pretty much on a self built island.

[rockfordfile]

32. good

[MissMillie]

3. That's it?

Why isn't a counterfeit government document deserving of a bigger punishment than that.

[hlthe2b]

6. It can (and has) been prosecuted under Federal law

https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2021/PSA210330

Making or buying a counterfeit card violates federal laws against the unauthorized use of an official government agency’s seal, which can result in a fine and up to five years in prison

[druidity33]

10. Give it time...

it's an opportunity for a high-profile prosecution.

[rpannier]

24. You'd likely have to check the collective bargaining agreement

There are likely clauses that lay out how suspensions are dealt with
There probably isn't something directly related to lying about this particular issue, but it could have been viewed by the NHL lawyers as an extension of another suspension offense

[Skittles]

5. disgusting

WTF is wrong with him

[FakeNoose]

8. He's Canadian so ... ?

... maybe he couldn't get vaccinated in the US? I don't know.

It would be interesting to find out if he has a reason.

[Initech]

14. If he's submitting a fake card, he intentionally planned to.

I don't think there's any valid excuse for this one but I could be wrong.

Never mind - just found out he has a history of wife beating and gambling on NHL games. Yeah he's a truly colossal piece of shit, so this was hostile.

[FakeNoose]

17. You're probably right

... but Kane hasn't given a statement, as far as I know.

He wants to play hockey, but he's not vaccinated yet. We don't know the reason why.

Well maybe Canadian citizens aren't getting free vaccine in the US? Or maybe he tried and they told him to go home and get it? I don't know. There's not enough info for us to put a political meaning on it.

[rpannier]

26. He gave a statement... or rather, more likely his agent did

"I would like to apologize to my teammates, the San Jose Sharks organization, and all Sharks fans for violating the NHL COVID protocols," said Kane in a statement released by the NHLPA. "I made a mistake, one I sincerely regret and take responsibility for. During my suspension, I will continue to participate in counseling to help me make better decisions in the future. When my suspension is over, I plan to return to the ice with great effort, determination, and love for the game of hockey."

For some reason, I am almost certain this was written by his lawyer. Largely because it uses a lot of the same meaningless phrases that other players in the various leagues have used when they get in trouble

[Bev54]

31. He sounds like a spoiled boy, whose parents let him get away with, or covered for his poor choices

[rurallib]

33. doesn't say he would get vaccinated

did I miss that?

[Hortensis]

28. Well, the guy's worth big money to his team and league. All he ever had

to do if he had the slightest problem obtaining a vaccination was to tell them. Poof! Handled.

Instead, he obtained a fake vaccination card, which for over 250,000,000 Americans at least would be significantly more difficult than dropping by a pharmacy and getting vaccinated.

[Bev54]

30. Of course he can get vaccinated in the US. The US was vaccinating our truck drivers

for us before we had enough vaccine to start a large vaccination program.

[Initech]

9. Fuck that guy! He should be suspended for the year. Or maybe even life.

And as a Ducks fan, I hate the Sharks, so double fuck that guy!

[MissMillie]

11. fired outright

and never allowed to play in the NHL again

[Initech]

13. Agreed! It was completely reckless and done with hostile intent.

The NHL should hand him a lifetime suspension. He got off light.

[Sherman A1]

20. Agreed

He should be shown the door.

[SoCalDavidS]

15. Hello From A Mighty Ducks Season Seat Holder Since Day 1

I agree with the 1 Year at a Minimum. What an Asshole.

[Initech]

16. After finding out he's got a history of gambling on NHL games...

I think nothing less than a lifetime suspension is in order.

I'm also a Ducks season ticket holder since year one! Going to my first post-COVID game on the 28th!

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Saw A Game At "The Pond"!

Get this.
I leave Chicago where it's zero, to go to SoCal (troubleshooting a reactor system in Orange County) where it's 80 & sunny.
And I get invited to go to a game played on ice!
Go figure!

[Harker]

23. I thought that was petty...

then I thought, "what if he were a Detroit Redwing", and I knew how you felt.

[Initech]

38. Yeah we have to put up with the Sharks and Kings.

Their visiting fans are not exactly what one would call "friendly".

[RockRaven]

12. Isn't he the one whose estranged- or ex-wife said was gambling on games?

Guess the NHL successfully swept that under the rug if he's still in the league...

[ellie]

18. What a goofus

[WinstonSmith4740]

21. As a Knight's fan...

[paleotn]

22. End their contracts.

Surely there's some verbiage that covers something along these lines. Turn of the cash and you get their attention. Anything else is a waste of time.

[bucolic_frolic]

25. Fraud's a biggie

[rurallib]

34. yes - I hope California or the feds make this guy a high profile case

hard to play hockey in prison.

[George II]

35. The only suspension I remember that long is when Dale Hunter mugged Pierre Turgeon....

....about 10 seconds after Turgeon scored a game clinching goal.

Turgeon was out for the remainder of the playoffs with a dislocated shoulder, and Hunter got 21 games, and $150K fine. That was BIG in 1993.

[The Fifty Stateman]

36. Why am I Not Surprised?

Kane has been breaking rules since he arrived in the league.

[Smackdown2019]

37. Bye bye

Life suspension AND six months in the slammer.