NHL team facing sexual harassment lawsuit backed by legal ruling.

Bad news for the NHL.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
NHL team facing sexual harassment lawsuit backed by legal ruling.
Justin Tang/Canadian Press

This may mean big trouble for one of the National Hockey League's struggling franchises and it may mean an ongoing headache for the National Hockey League itself.

According to a news report from the Associated Press it now appears that the Ottawa Senators will be facing a lawsuit following a rather disturbing incident that took place last year. I am of course referring to the sexual harassment case involving now former Ottawa Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee, a case that brought a great deal of shame and attention onto the Senators at a time when they more than likely wanted nothing more than to avoid having a spotlight put on their organization.

Lee of course was accused by a shuttle bus driver, who was reportedly only 19 years of age at the time of the incident, of harassment. Those charges stemmed from accusations by the driver that Lee had inappropriately touched himself while rubbing the driver's shoulders and making lewd comments about him as well. It essentially reads like every over the top workplace harassment scenario you've see in videos designed to show you that this type of behavior is wrong, something that obviously speaks very poorly of Lee's character and the workplace within the Senators organization. 

In December those accusations took on an entirely different nature as well when Lee would plead guilty to the charges as part of a plea deal that would see him avoid jail time and only pay a very minor fine as a result. Although Lee avoided almost all forms of criminal punishment as a result of his actions it now appears that the young man who was the victim in this case intends to seek justice. According to the Associated Press' report it is this young man and his legal team who have filled suit against Lee, the Senators, as well as the establishment that Lee was at on the evening prior to getting back on the shuttle to head back to the hotel where the Senators were staying.

The young's man legal team believe the establishment continued over serve Lee after he was already drunk and as for the Senators that is where things get really interesting. According to the AP's report the young's man attorney, Charles Desmond, alleges that the Senators are responsible due to the fact that they were aware of a history of lewd behavior from Lee in the past. Desmond would not go into detail as per the AP report, however those comments alone suggest that this was not a one time thing for Randy Lee. If that is indeed the case and he was allowed to continue working in a position of power around vulnerable young men, it becomes hard to feel too sorry for the Ottawa Senators here.

The Senators legal team has reportedly stated that they will "vigorously fight" what they consider to be a "frivolous" law suit.

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