WINNIPEG — A disgraced former hockey coach apologized to the players he sexually abused on Wednesday, saying he is full of "regret."
Graham James – described as "the most hated man in hockey" by his own lawyer – appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday, looking like a shell of the man who once held the hopes and dreams of hundreds of aspiring young athletes in hands. Now older, greyer and much more frail, James offered a soft-spoken apology for the horrors he inflicted on several of his former players.
"I stand before you with regret," James, 59, began. He said he was "deeply sorry." http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/02/22/disgraced-coach-graham-james-to-be-sentenced-for-molesting-theo-fleury/
Shacks' Take: I remember watching Coach's Corner the Saturday after Graham James was convicted the first time. Ron MacLean asked Don what he thought about the sentencing and Don went off. As I recall he said James should be strung up by his balls and three years was a joke. When Ron said James was given a lighter sentence for pleading guilty and not making the accusers take the stand to relive the ordeal, Don Cherry went on a curse filled tirade. Oddly, I can't find video of this segment although it's one I remember more than any other Coach's Corner. Why? Because I agreed with everything Mr. Cherry had to say.
The punishment for child rapists should be extreme. I haven't an ounce of sympathy in my soul for a pedophile and I hope James gets whatever maximum punishment he can receive. The vengeful side of me wishes he gets released to general population for a few days but I'll just move on before I get too worked up.
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