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The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning have suspended defenseman Ian Cole while the club and NHL investigate an allegation made public on Twitter — and which he denies — that Cole groomed and sexually abused a minor.
On Sunday evening, the club said it is “aware of the allegations against player Ian Cole” and “cooperating fully with the NHL on an investigation” in astatement shared via the NHL.
“Our organization takes these allegations very seriously. While we continue to gather more details, we have decided to suspend Ian Cole pending the results of an investigation,” the Lighting’s statement continues. “No members of the organization, including players, will comment further at this time.”
On Friday, a Twitter user using the name Emily Smithalleged in a statement that Cole groomed her for four years, “starting while I was a minor in high school” and after Cole had already “been playing in the NHL for a few years.”
The user wrote that Cole was aware she was a teenager still in high school when they first met and pressured her into having sex with him “even though I made it very clear I did not want to.”
“[Cole] would not take no for an answer. I was too young to understand at the time that pressuring someone into sex was sexual assault,” the user wrote.
The Twitter user, who otherwise remains anonymous and opened the account in question in September, alleged that Cole frequently asked to see her throughout her time in high school and continued to pressure her “to do things without my consent, that I had made clear I was not ok with, like refusing to wear condoms.”
The user also accused Cole of grooming and assaulting a second minor victim who attended the same high school as her after the first victim had graduated and moved on to college and alleged that several of Cole’s NHL teammates were aware of her own encounters with Cole.
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“Years later, one of Ian’s former NHL teammates told me that Ian had bragged about sexually assaulting me as a minor the first night we met to their teammates,” the Twitter statement reads. “He was able to recall details to me that only Ian and I would have known about, meaning that many on his team were aware he was involved with a minor. I felt violated all over again.”
Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty
Coledenied the allegationsin astatement sent to ESPNvia his agent Kevin Magnuson and said he will “cooperate fully with the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning, their officials and legal departments in the forthcoming investigation.”
The allegations shared via Twitter did not clarify where or when the alleged encounters happened. Cole, who has played 12 seasons in the NHL,first entered the league with the St. Louis Bluesduring the 2010-11 NHL season and has also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes.
Colesigned a one-year, $3 million contract with Tampa Bayin July, according to the NHL.
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported on Sunday thatCole’s suspension is considered paid leaveand noted that the NHL does not have a specific domestic violence policy in place.
source: people.com
