News Article: GMBG Caught Up in Lawsuit from Pittsburgh Days

[ThatGuy22]

I'm willing to treat the additional allegations as a non factor until there is evidence of it. None was provided.

Their entire lawsuit depends on the penguins knowing something like this would happen(provided the judge doesn't throw it out as not being whistle blower case due to the 180 day deadline). Throwing allegations like that in the complaint, without evidence, is their only shot of getting even a go away settlement based on the facts of the case that are public.

Someone else comes forward, I'll reevaluate my opinion.

 

[thestonedkoala]

You don't ignore the allegations, but you don't treat the article as Gospel either.

Exactly; which is why I have been saying they need to do a thorough investigation (and independent investigation) of the situation. However, given that the NHL has swept a few things under the rug, I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a non-story in a week.

I'll bite.

If Guerin was aware of past accusations against Donatelli, what makes you think the alleged sexual assault against Mrs. Skadle was the straw that broke the camels back?

You said it yourself; it went from sexual harassment to sexual assault, which is much, much different. There could be a million reasons why this one incident is the straw that broke the camel's back. There is always that one person that says enough is enough...

This entire situation was handled by the book. Company was made aware, company promptly removed person responsible, case closed. If the Skadle's had additional grievances they should've raised those with the Providence, RI police department where the alleged assault happened.

You're making a lot of assumptions; was this the first time the company was made aware? Second? Third? Twentieth? How many cases are there?

Again, just because the reason behind the lawsuit is faulty, doesn't mean you don't do an independent investigation to see if the company did everything properly.

Ask yourself why they didn't. I'll help you, it's not because Guerin told them to keep quiet on personnel matters.

Or they thought Donatelli would have taken care of it like the big boy he was and said he was?

Someone else comes forward, I'll reevaluate my opinion.

This is where I am at. If they are going to throw out an accusation like that, the NHL needs to conduct an investigation and see if anyone else is going to collaborate.

And his case has no merit, because all the Asst Coaches with the AHL team were let go, with no positions filled as yet.

Uh, one got promoted to head coach and the other got fired? They said that of the 21 employees only Skalde got canned. Can't tell, because nothing freaking updates!

 

[ThatGuy22]

Exactly; which is why I have been saying they need to do a thorough investigation (and independent investigation) of the situation. However, given that the NHL has swept a few things under the rug, I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a non-story in a week.



You said it yourself; it went from sexual harassment to sexual assault, which is much, much different. There could be a million reasons why this one incident is the straw that broke the camel's back. There is always that one person that says enough is enough...



You're making a lot of assumptions; was this the first time the company was made aware? Second? Third? Twentieth? How many cases are there?

Again, just because the reason behind the lawsuit is faulty, doesn't mean you don't do an independent investigation to see if the company did everything properly.



Or they thought Donatelli would have taken care of it like the big boy he was and said he was?



This is where I am at. If they are going to throw out an accusation like that, the NHL needs to conduct an investigation and see if anyone else is going to collaborate.



Uh, one got promoted to head coach and the other got fired? They said that of the 21 employees on Skalde got canned. Can't tell, because nothing freaking updates!

He didn't get fired. His contract didn't get renewed.

Same as the two NHL assistant coaches that had contracts expired.

Pens were looking to cut costs, they had three expiring contracts. Two NHL assistants, and an AHL assistant. They promoted the AHL head coach to be an NHL assistant, promoted an AHL assistant to be the head coach in the AHL, and filled no other positions with the uncertainty.

This part is the death knell in his suit. They haven't replaced him. The AHL team has zero assistant coaches under contract right now. Because it was a cost cutting move.

 

[thestonedkoala]

He didn't get fired. His contract didn't get renewed.

They also stripped some of his duties, but that's fair.

This part is the death knell in his suit. They haven't replaced him. The AHL team has zero assistant coaches under contract right now. Because it was a cost cutting move.

I agree that the lawsuit is pretty flimsy in terms of retaliatory firing, but the alleged assault and if any others need to be followed up on.

I don't disagree that Guerin and the Pens did anything wrong with how to resolve this issue, but more if they could have had avoided it.

 

[ThatGuy22]

They also stripped some of his duties, but that's fair.



I agree that the lawsuit is pretty flimsy in terms of retaliatory firing, but the alleged assault and if any others need to be followed up on.

I don't disagree that Guerin and the Pens did anything wrong with how to resolve this issue, but more if they could have had avoided it.

Stripped him of his duties is the stupidest part of this story in my opinion.

The old coach got justifiably fired, a new coach installed.

Does the new coach not have the ability to delegate assistant coach roles as he sees fit?

Was he stripped, or did a new head coach decide to do something different?

 

[thestonedkoala]

Stripped him of his duties is the stupidest part of this story in my opinion.

The old coach got justifiably fired, a new coach installed.

Does the new coach not have the ability to delegate assistant coach roles as he sees fit?

Was he stripped, or did a new head coach decide to do something different?

Good question. There a million questions to this story.

 

[GuerinUp]

Im so glad we live in a country where someone is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law by your peers, and not in a country where you are judged by newspaper articles written in spite of a company letting you go for unrelated circumstances.

 

[thestonedkoala]

The complaint says that Donatelli previously engaged in “countless” similar incidents, including one in Charlotte, N.C., when he and his staff were asked to leave a local restaurant after Mr. Donatelli uttered obscenities at and engaged in lewd and aggressive behavior toward women. In another incident, the Skaldes say that Donatelli also sexually assaulted a friend of theirs who was visiting from out of town.

This was posted in the Penguins thread.

So, this should be easy to verify or not. Talk to the friend (this one is more sketch than the other). Talk to the restaurant. If the restaurant says yes the incident happened, we reported it to the Penguins or if the staff didn't report it, follow through.

 

[SupremeNachos]

Im so glad we live in a country where someone is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law by your peers, and not in a country where you are judged by newspaper articles written in spite of a company letting you go for unrelated circumstances.

Yeah, because this is true all the time...

 

[GuerinUp]

Yeah, because this is true all the time...

6th Amendment

This Amendment is present in all trials or court cases in America. The 6th Amendment in the American Constitution guarantees an individual the right to a fair, speedy, and public trial. The 6th Amendment also enables an individual to have legal assistance, regardless of the charge, and the right to confront adverse witnesses and notice of accusations. These rights are given to all men or women under trial for any sort of wrongdoing. They establish the “innocent until proven guilty” mantra that is present in the United States legal system.

 

[SupremeNachos]

6th Amendment

This Amendment is present in all trials or court cases in America. The 6th Amendment in the American Constitution guarantees an individual the right to a fair, speedy, and public trial. The 6th Amendment also enables an individual to have legal assistance, regardless of the charge, and the right to confront adverse witnesses and notice of accusations. These rights are given to all men or women under trial for any sort of wrongdoing. They establish the “innocent until proven guilty” mantra that is present in the United States legal system.

You completely missed the point. A lot of trials are already decided before they get to a court, either from public pressure or racism.

 

[GuerinUp]

You completely missed the point. A lot of trials are already decided before they get to a court, either from public pressure or racism.

This is just not true. If a court finds the jury is biased they will find new jurors. even if it requires at times getting them from out of state. Its the whole reason they interview and select the jury through a list that is larger than required.

 

[HotDish]

You completely missed the point. A lot of trials are already decided before they get to a court, either from public pressure or racism.

Do you mean parties settling out of court or do you believe juries and judges make up their mind before the trial?

 

[57special]

The Skaldes are only looking for 75 G's? Wouldn't the Pens be smarter to have settled out of court( which is usually a lesser figure), had a NDA as part of the settlement, and have avoided all this bad pub?

BTW, it sounds like Guerin is not at fault in this, as he did consult with higher ups, and was merely conveying their instructions? I guess some could quibble with that. Still, not how the Wild want to see their GM's name in print.

 

[ThatGuy22]

The Skaldes are only looking for 75 G's? Wouldn't the Pens be smarter to have settled out of court( which is usually a lesser figure), had a NDA as part of the settlement, and have avoided all this bad pub?

BTW, it sounds like Guerin is not at fault in this, as he did consult with higher ups, and was merely conveying their instructions? I guess some could quibble with that. Still, not how the Wild want to see their GM's name in print.

Where did you read that? I haven't seen a dollar figure, that's shockingly low.

 

[HotDish]

The Skaldes are only looking for 75 G's? Wouldn't the Pens be smarter to have settled out of court( which is usually a lesser figure), had a NDA as part of the settlement, and have avoided all this bad pub?

BTW, it sounds like Guerin is not at fault in this, as he did consult with higher ups, and was merely conveying their instructions? I guess some could quibble with that. Still, not how the Wild want to see their GM's name in print.

Yeah Russo's podcast touches a bit about the Guerin situation. Sounds like TSN did a poor job at reporting the story and singled out Guerin in the headline for no good reason.

 

[57special]

I got the 75g figure from the main thread. Sounded low to me, too. Maybe they meant to post $750,000.

I guess it's sexier to mention Bill Guerin, than some anonymous lawyer or HR person.

 

[GuerinUp]

Yeah Russo's podcast touches a bit about the Guerin situation. Sounds like TSN did a poor job at reporting the story and singled out Guerin in the headline for no good reason.

this is why i wasnt quick to point fingers or shout out for the firing of guerin. Media loves painting picasso like stories of actual events.

 

[SupremeNachos]

This is just not true. If a court finds the jury is biased they will find new jurors. even if it requires at times getting them from out of state. Its the whole reason they interview and select the jury through a list that is larger than required.

That's what they're suppose to do, but there are still cases where that doesn't happen because of prejudices.

Do you mean parties settling out of court or do you believe juries and judges make up their mind before the trial?

I believe that having a set of rules and enforcing them to the letter of the law are different. We see it time and again where cases are won and lost because of the town/city they are in, whether it be because of race or personal choice. If it was truly black and white with no outside influences then I don't see an issue, but we all know that's never going to happen.

 

[GuerinUp]

That's what they're suppose to do, but there are still cases where that doesn't happen because of prejudices.


I believe that having a set of rules and enforcing them to the letter of the law are different. We see it time and again where cases are won and lost because of the town/city they are in, whether it be because of race or personal choice. If it was truly black and white with no outside influences then I don't see an issue, but we all know that's never going to happen.

If a defendant has that complaint, they are more than able to file a appeal. The legal system has plenty of checks and balances to prevent this from being an issue consistently. Do things fall through the cracks? Probably, no legal system is perfect. But this is far from the norm. Its just an easy avenue for someone to proclaim their own innocence even if they are in fact guilty.

 

[Al Lagoon]

Thanks, I'll pass.

 

[grN1g]

For those that may have not listened on the latest russo and Lapanta podcast they both gave their opinions plus opinions of other reporters that know and worked this story, main take away is BG was a very minor part in this story and actually did everything by the book and anyone who's legitmally covered the story were taken back by the article.

TSN did an awful job of mis representation

 

[thestonedkoala]

For those that may have not listened on the latest russo and Lapanta podcast they both gave their opinions plus opinions of other reporters that know and worked this story, main take away is BG was a very minor part in this story and actually did everything by the book and anyone who's legitmally covered the story were taken back by the article.

TSN did an awful job of mis representation

My concern is that Russo and LaPanta are only looking at the lawsuit, which at this point seems to clear Guerin. The elephant in the room though is the other allegation that Guerin may have had a part of and that's his knowledge of Donatelli's behavior, which I feel like is being swept under the rug.

 

[MuckOG]

My concern is that Russo and LaPanta are only looking at the lawsuit, which at this point seems to clear Guerin. The elephant in the room though is the other allegation that Guerin may have had a part of and that's his knowledge of Donatelli's behavior, which I feel like is being swept under the rug.

If Skalde felt that Guerin did play a part, don't you think he would've made mention of that and included Guerin as a defendant in the suit?

 

[HotDish]

If Skalde felt that Guerin did play a part, don't you think he would've made mention of that in the lawsuit and made Guerin a defendant in the suit?

Yeah, from the limited reading and listening I have heard on this was that Guerin isn't even a focus in the lawsuit. The lawsuit mentions thatSkalde went to Guerin and Guerin said he would handle this.

The only reason he is big news in this story is because the TSN reporter singled him out. If the headline had nothing about Guerin and just focused on the former coach committing sexual harassment this story would be a nothing burger about Guerin.

I'm 100% on the boat of believing the victim and I say this as someone who went to journalism school/ former one. This was very irresponsible reporting. I however, can also say that blame doesn't always fall on the reporter. Often time editors can be the ones that push agendas and almost overrule a reporter. Speaking of experience.

If wouldn't be the first time that an editor changed a headline. Hence why I think they said former AHL GM instead of singling him out. They might've expected blowback.