The not-so-Great One

Looks like Wayne Gretzky might be in trouble on this gambling ring thing by saying at first that he didn't know anything about it. A wiretap allegedly has Gretz talking to someone about it. Will this tarnish Gretzky's legacy? Any thoughts hockey fans? Here's the latest:


http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2325295

Given there's now evidence that Wayne knew of Tocchet's involvement before the bust and did nothing about it (not to mention he lied about knowing about it after the bust), IMO he should step down as coach OR be removed. I don't know if it's possible to sanction him as owner, but that should be done also.

this is getting blown way out of proportion. you're going to knock on the guy for wanting to protect his family (wife)? he didn't even gamble. and the gambling wasn't even on hockey, so i don't see what the big deal is. i look at wayne no differently now than before.

Except he lied to the public and did nothing to correct the situation when he had a chance to.

how did he lie to the public? and how could he have even corrected the situation?

He pleaded ignorance right after the story broke (before the wiretap info came out) and did nothing a month ago when he KNEW Tocchet was involved. He could have released Tocchet to save his own integrity.

He lied by publicly saying he knew nothing about it. He should have said "no comment."

Corrected it? Hell, you marry a Playboy bunny and you gotta figure she probably ain't exactly the squeaky clean girl next door type.

Gretzky's still a good guy IMO. However, it sounds like he knew the real deal. I would imagine he could have stopped her.

i don't care if he knew, i don't see what the big deal is. it's not like pete rose crap and fixing games, it's not even the same sport and it's just betting, something millions of people do all the time. who cares?

I agree Warthog.

If some millionaire (or his wife) wants to spend money betting on sports, go right ahead. If someone making minimum wage wants to bet on sports, hell if I care. If a guy on welfare wants to pay a woman to have sex with him, more power to him. I really don't care. I really don't see how any of it is any of the government, or the publics business.

Now if it was hockey he/she whoever was betting on, thats a different story because Wayne and Rick actually have a role in the outcome of those games. Since it apparently wasn't hockey, why is this even a story?

Well JT, the government/law enforcement is involved because it's pretty much a given that any income that these people get from winning these bets sure as heck aren't going to be reported to the IRS. Which of course is against the law. Not to mention the fact that it is suspected that organized crime has their hands in this as well.

I'm not a Canadian.

And when Gretzky was playing, I was sick and tired of hearing his name.

Was he great player? Heck yeah. Was the the greatest ever? That's always a hard call, but check out how many records he holds.

Would I be bothered if he took part of the fall for this? Nope, not at all.

Would I be bothered if he didn't get fair treatment, either because he's The Great One, or if he got leaniency because of it? Yeah, I would.

If he did something wrong I hope he get's what he deserves.

Latest ESPN report I heard says Wayne really did not know about the gambling ring when he was asked about it. In other words, the wiretap came before the story broke. Hmmmmm. Not sure I believe he knew nothing about it.

Wayne is GOD, I don't care if he bet against the Coyotes then pulled the goalie while they were leading. Nothing sticks to him. Rumour though is he and Janet have been split up for the last 5 months and are waiting until the mansion in LA sells to announce.

Let's talk conspiracy theory here for a second... and this pretty much sums up my feelings for Gretzky...

There used to be a pretty steady rumor around the NHL, when Gretzky was playing, that the league made it clear that anyone who actually checked him, I mean a hard as heck, drill him into the boards, or a clean, open ice, hip check... was going to be in deep trouble. The league was protecting their "Golden Boy".

But tell me: Does this even make him a fricking hockey player?

I think not. Ever see anybody let up and not check Yzerman? Or Mario? I think not. Other teams LOVE to drill the big stars, yet somehow Gretzky managed to keep from getting plastered game in and game out. And it's not because he had a bunch of good players around him to protect him; he was on crappy teams pretty much since he left Edmonton.