April 17, 2004
Mike Danton Update
There are two stories in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today that provide a few additional details about the arrest of St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton yesterday in San Jose on charges he tried to arrange a murder for hire.
In an update of an earlier story, the St. Louis Dispatch is reporting that Danton was actually involved with the woman who tried to help him arrange the murder of an unnamed acquaintance who had threatened to talk to the Blues about problems with Danton's personal life -- specifically, his problems with "promiscuity and the use of alcohol".
That little factoid conflicts with a what Reuters reported last night, that in fact it was the target of the contract hit, a man, who was involved romantically with Danton.
After reading another account in the Dispatch, it's easy to see why Danton might be afraid of anyone talking to management in St. Louis. To say Danton has had a checkered career would be an understatement. He broke into the league two years ago with the New Jersey Devils, and quickly gained a reputation as being a difficult teammate. Back then, he was known as Mike Jefferson, but he later changed his name because he reportedly didn't want to be connected with his family back in Brampton, Ontario any longer.
Coming to St. Louis before this season, Danton had to fight for a spot in the lineup, something he managed to do in training camp. In general, he was used as an agitator, and was considered something of a pleasant surprise in St. Louis this season. After suffering a mid-season injury, Danton wasn't able to immediately work himself back into the lineup, but after expressing some initial displeasure, Danton buckled downed, and got back on the ice. He played in all five games of the Blues first round series with the Sharks, scoring one goal.
With his record as a difficult personality, you can understand why Danton might have feared St. Louis management discovering facts about a chaotic personal life, but how one makes the leap to hiring a hitman is beyond my powers of reason.
Then again, there are all sorts of facts that don't seem to add up (for a copy of the complaint against Danton, click here). It ought to be noted, that most news outlets have omitted the report that Danton and the man he wanted killed were romantically involved. As to that, I'll cede the floor to Danton's teammate, Blues center Doug Weight:
Weight said what Danton does in his personal life is his own business and shouldn't have been a problem for the team.
"Let's preface it by saying who knows what the situation is," Weight said. "There's rumors of what went on and who exactly was involved with this so-called thing.
"Let's not jump to conclusions, but you know what, hypothetically I think it would be fine. I'd like to think people are bigger than that and look into the person as a person and as a teammate."
Then again, if Danton was willing to kill in order to avoid having his life as a gay man exposed, it's clear he didn't feel the Blues locker room, and by extension the rest of the NHL, would be quite so welcoming. Stay tuned.
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Let's hope that tomorrow night Ron McLean has the sense to avoid any all questions related to sexual orientation and hockey when he's anywhere near Don Cherry. Even if Cherry has no problem with homosexuals in the NHL, which he probably doesn't, he's apt to say something incredibly stupid while explaining himself.
Posted by:
at April 17, 2004 07:24 PM
That's not necessarily a conflict of facts. As difficult as it is to believe it today's era of mild theocracy (and this era of scary diseases), there are some people who are bisexual and not necessarily monogamous. Hypothetically, if you're up for a murder-for-hire scheme, monogamy might not be your top priority.
Again, this is hypothetical. Not jumping to conclusions, just saying Danton could've been "involved" with both parties.
Posted by:
at April 18, 2004 11:54 AM
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03:59 PM