It's no secret that I'm not a Calgary Flames fan, but a little piece of me was pretty excited that Theoren Fleury was trying to break back in to the NHL.  Despite Fleury breaking my heart time and time again while a member of the Calgary Flames (and later the Colorado Avalanche), I always admired his tenacity and his drive to succeed.  I think it speaks about the power of the game when a guy who has been away from it for 6 years has the drive to compete at such a high level again.  When Fleury was cut from the Flames, I thought it was fitting that he retired right away, rather than embarrass himself by trying to find a spot on every other team in the league. 

When news broke today about the book Fleury has written, I wasn't really surprised that he alleges abuse at the hand of Graham James (and I mean that in the most genuine way).  In the culture that we've created around hockey, it's not unusual for “questionable” conduct between players and coaches, or between players to go on without so much as a second look. 

I think that we should all take a moment and acknowledge how difficult it must be for someone in Fleury's position to come right out and tell everyone what happened to him, and who was responsible.  I think that we spend far too much time promoting the masculine ideal that boys and young men have nowhere to turn when they need an adult who will actually care for them rather than exploit them.

Both Fleury and Sheldon Kennedy deserve nothing but respect for coming forward about these tragic events.  Hopefully more people will come clean and the healing process can begin on a large scale.