Wayne Gretzky - Reputation on the line

[Elisa]

Reputation on the line
Gretzky may need to distance himself from his wife

Wayne Gretzky came before the media on Thursday night, this time to simply say: "I didn't bet." He seemed tired and drawn, the national floodlights and all the innuendo upon him, a world of troubles that overwhelmed the small but dismal matter of the night -- that the Phoenix Coyotes, the team he leads, had bowed without a whimper in a 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars.

And yet Gretzky retained his angular grace, that smoothness of movement that says "athlete" even when he is off the ice. His haircut looked good. He allowed himself to smile. At 45, Gretzky has a way of appearing at once worn and polished -- like old silver, that most precious of metals in the hockey world.

He has been known as the Great One for better than half his life, and he knows what rests upon his narrow frame. Not just his own name, but the name of the NHL, the name of Canada, the whole legacy that he has wrought.

No one embodies a sport so fully as Gretzky. Not Barry Bonds or Brett Favre, not Shaquille O'Neal or Tiger Woods. They are all bright suns in a universe with many stars. Gretzky is the sun around which, even now, a large part of public consciousness revolves. Gretzky means hockey to so many outside the game. Tony Hawk and skateboarding is something like this.

In this betting ring story, Gretzky remains innocent. Not just because he has not been convicted of anything,but because he hasn't been charged with anything. The most damning thing, by far, is his association with an alleged high-roller: his wife. As reports say, and as Janet Jones Gretzky's public statement -- "I have never placed a bet for my husband" -- seems to support, she is a sports wagerer. That's a really, really dumb thing to be if you're married to Wayne Gretzky.

Whatever Gretzky knew or did not know what Janet was doing, he is not getting anywhere close to her right now. Gretzky, perhaps wisely, is putting his position in the public universe ahead of the relationship with his wife of 18 years.

On Tuesday night, as the gambling allegations against Janet were emerging, Gretzky told reporters: "First of all, my wife is my best friend. My love for her is deeper than anything."

On Thursday night, he concluded his short news conference by saying, "There's nothing for me to talk about. And, if you have any questions for people who are involved in this, contact them." He didn't mention his wife's name

We have not yet seen Wayne and Janet out together publicly; the statements they release are separate. Wayne has reminded us that "she is her own person." He would have us understand that his association with this particular gambler is not quite as intertwined as nearly two decades of marriage and five children would lead you to believe.

One day, perhaps if and when he is called to testify, we may get a better sense of what Wayne Gretzky knew about any bets his wife may have been placed. For now he will soon pack his things and fly to Turin. And he will hold on to his still-good name, to his well-earned reputation, to his ambassadorship to the world, with everything that he has.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...10/inside.nhl/

Just sad that this man has come through almost 30 years in the very public eye virtually unscathed as far as scandal is concerned and this is what's going to bring him down. He's the epitome of honesty and integrity and until someone shows me something to the contrary, he's innocent.

[Hazeleyed_Honey]

So, in summary, can you expalin to me what this betting scandal with the NHL is all about?

[pacific breeze]

Gretzky is notorious for being cheap, and along with his wife, constantly demands freebies in restaurants (doesn't tip either), stores and elsewhere. I used to live in Edmonton way back when he was practically royalty and his reputation -- the one that didn't make the papers -- around town wasn't exactly sterling. I worked for a paper at the time, and we had lots of stuff that we should have printed about him, but didn't.

More recently, I was at an airport Air Canada private lounge where Gretzky and Co. were making a huge fuss, being insulting to staff and generally acting like boors (he had his feet up on the table that other customers were using). He also insisted that his entourage be bumped up to business class, which they were, for free.

And then there was the embarrassing publicity stunt when he pretended to have arthritis and ended up on the front page of most Canadian newspapers and it turned out he was shilling for Tylenol. Nothing wrong with that (although it's not like he needs the money), but it was a questionable, I'd say shoddy, way to promote a product.

So, I can completely believe that greedy Janet gambled, and that he knew about it, if he didn't actually profit from it.

Time will tell.

[SVZ]

Gretzky can do no wrong imo, he's just such a great guy, and he's very dedicated to everything he does.

The only thing I can fault him on though are his acting skills

[Elisa]

Originally Posted by SVZ

Gretzky can do no wrong imo, he's just such a great guy, and he's very dedicated to everything he does.

The only thing I can fault him on though are his acting skills

Ha! So true about the acting skills. Remember Saturday Night Live?

I just feel so badly for him. To lose your mother, grandmother and possibly your wife all within the past 2.5 months........He has to be stressed beyond belief. So unfair to him.

This paragraph in particular shocked me:

Whatever Gretzky knew or did not know what Janet was doing, he is not getting anywhere close to her right now. Gretzky, perhaps wisely, is putting his position in the public universe ahead of the relationship with his wife of 18 years

I'm sure he knew what Janet was doing, but we don't know the circumstances. I heard a rumor that Janet has had a 'problem' for some time now and some are suprised this has only surfaced now. If this was a full blown addiction, there might have been little Wayne could do to stop it. Unfortunately, he's going to pay the consequences. I hope their marriage can survive this and he comes out of this unmarred.

[pacific breeze]

She has generally called the shots in that marriage from all accounts. The saying is, "If you want Wayne to do something, convince Janet."

[Elisa]

Originally Posted by pacific breeze

She has generally called the shots in that marriage from all accounts. The saying is, "If you want Wayne to do something, convince Janet."

Wow! I'm really shocked by what you're saying. I'm not saying that I don't believe you necessarily - who knows what the truth is anymore? - just that what you've said goes completely against the grain of everything we've ever thought we'd known about Gretzky.

How does someone so in the public eye get by unscathed by any sort of bad press (the kind you alluded to in particular) if it was indeed true? He's always seemed like a very upstanding guy to me.

I was fortunate enough to meet him many years ago and he was everything I thought he was - a real gentleman. Very kind and sincere to everyone with not even a hint of ego.

[pacific breeze]

He can be very generous and patient with fans, I have witnessed that myself. But...I know that there is another side to him. I'm not blaming his wife entirely, but his personality seemed to change once they married, and he became a lot more interested in money. She is someone with very materialistic values, IMO, and after 18 years, some of it is bound to wear off.

[B.C.]

I've always loved Wayne. I wanted to marry him, because of his soft spokedness (is that a word?) not that he's all that handsome. He just seems to have a gentleness about him. If his wife has done this to him and he's not involved, she should be hung out by her teats to dry.

[A*O]

And yet Gretzky retained his angular grace, that smoothness of movement that says "athlete" even when he is off the ice. His haircut looked good. He allowed himself to smile. At 45, Gretzky has a way of appearing at once worn and polished -- like old silver, that most precious of metals in the hockey world

Who wrote this shit - Danielle Steele?

[Grimmlok]

*spits out his pasta*

AHAHAHAH

[twitchy]

The Sun(that bastion of journalistic integrity!), is comparing him to Jesus!

Tue, February 14, 2006

Pursuit of Gretzky a modern crucifixion

By MIKE ULMER





He doesn't deserve this. Crucifixions have changed a bit over a couple of thousand years, but the dynamics are still the same.
You need a mob convinced it's carrying out the will of the public, and you need a victim. The rest -- electronic thorns instead of real ones, soundclip jabs instead of those from spears -- is just progress.
Historically, the role of the person crucified is best played by someone who will appear uncontrite but unwilling to answer his accusers. Wayne Gretzky, an Anglican, always had an eye for detail.
Set against Team Canada working out only a few feet away, Gretzky's press conference lasted just a little more than five excruciating minutes. Andre Brin, the affable media relations guy from Hockey Canada, played a reluctant Pilate in delivering an exhausted Gretzky to the print and electronic media.
What followed was two streams meeting and creating a torrent: An indignant media with the thinnest of rationales and the natural and national inclination we all feel to take down someone who is really big.
Journalists are fun at parties. We're great at Trivial Pursuit, but we are subject to the same mathematics as any group. Put more than two of us on the same story and the group IQ lowers by 50%. Keep taking off 50% with each addition until we become this big stupid mass of microphones and notepads, a dumb, braying jackass convinced that somewhere, just beyond our scent, lies scandal.
The rule of thumb we use for famous people is that they forfeit the right to be treated fairly when they become public figures. Small wonder, then, that the phenomenon of writing about how things look and ruminating about the effects of whatever crap we dredge up occupy so much time.
Journalists, and only journalists, decide what's a story. Cops don't. Judges don't. We do. The story in fashion now is how will these terrible accusations affect our Olympic hockey teams.
'NO STORY ABOUT ME'
"There's no story about me," Gretzky at one point told the mob. "That's what I keep trying to tell you. I'm not involved."
What about the team losing focus, he was asked.
"I can keep it. You guys are having trouble. To me it's no trouble."
This is the price Wayne Gretzky pays to be Wayne Gretzky, for having the audacity to be ridiculously, unforgivably successful. You can win Stanley Cups, Canada Cups, World Cups. You can become the pitchman of all pitchmen, the absolute authority on image. In the end, it will make your detractors more plentiful and more vengeful.
There is no case against Wayne Gretzky. There are no charges for him to answer. No one, at any level of law enforcement, has suggested he did anything illegal, let alone compromised the game.
All there is, all there has ever been, is an investigation involving his friend and assistant coach Rick Tocchet and an assertion that his wife, Janet, gambles with sums that to the rest of the non-monied classes seem stratospheric.
There isn't smoke here. There isn't fire. There aren't even two sticks rubbed together. An earlier leaked report that Gretzky talked to Tocchet about Janet prior to learning of the gambling ring was proven false.
Yesterday another "insider" claimed the Gretzkys spent big money gambling at Vegas. Again no attribution. Again no inference of illegality. But that was enough for a reporter to question Gretzky's extravagant ways.
It wasn't a good day for the media yesterday. The top story in so many papers, the first item on sports shows, showed a tired man, a hero still but a tired one, his hands tied by his loyalty to his wife, battered by those who would otherwise swoon for his autograph.
What would he say? "My wife has a gambling problem" or "What we do with our money is none of your business as long as we break no laws"? And so he gave no answer. Courteously.
The vast majority of Canadians identify this same man as one of the finest amalgams of our virtues. And they are wondering what he did to deserve this.

[SammysMom]

Originally Posted by pacific breeze

He can be very generous and patient with fans, I have witnessed that myself. But...I know that there is another side to him. I'm not blaming his wife entirely, but his personality seemed to change once they married, and he became a lot more interested in money. She is someone with very materialistic values, IMO, and after 18 years, some of it is bound to wear off.

I remember when they got married alot of people made comments in the press about he must have been blinded by love and not see the real Janet Jones. I know she had a rep here in America of being a gold digger. She was in a movie and one of her co-stars from that movie made a comment Gretzky didnt know what he was getting into, she had used her beauty and "female ways" to get him to marry her. I never have liked her. He married down when he married her in my opinion.

[CollegeStudent]

She was in a movie and one of her co-stars from that movie made a comment Gretzky didnt know what he was getting into, she had used her beauty and "female ways" to get him to marry her. I never have liked her. He married down when he married her in my opinion.

I don't think he cares either way, she was just some trophy wife to him. And I don't think he married down, they both got exactly what they deserve. Despite his godlike image, he's always been smarmy. After their first date, he went on howard stern and told the world how him and janet slept together the first night. and then at a game once, the plexiglass fell and knocked her out, and he didn't even bat an eye. didn't even go the hospital with her or anything, just kept playing without a care in the world.