If the Canadians have high hopes of retaining their gold medal from 2002, the man they lovingly refer to as “The Great One” will do well to emerge from the next couple of weeks with his pristine reputation intact.
Gambling is illegal in the US, except for in casinos and at the racetrack. So the fact that Gretzky’s wife, Janet Jones — a model turned actress with ex-boyfriends including Vitas Gerulaitis and Bruce Willis — and Rick Tocchet, Gretzky’s assistant coach at the Phoenix Coyotes, are implicated in a sports bet- ting ring that accrued $1.7m in 40 days does not bode well.
According to one report, Gretzky can be heard on a wiretap discussing his wife’s role in the affair. If true, this would contradict a statement in which he claimed no knowledge of the betting ring.
“I will say it one more time — I didn’t bet,” Gretzky said after the Coyotes, a team he part-owns, were trashed 5-1 by the Dallas Stars on Thursday. “It didn’t happen, it’s not going to happen, it hasn’t happened. I am too tired mentally and physically to talk any more about it. If you have questions for people involved, contact them.”
Although Gretzky’s wife released a statement asserting that her husband had never bet on anything other than the “occasional horse race”, he will be deemed by some to be guilty by association. While the allegations against Jones are colourful, notably that she wagered $75,000 on last Sunday’s Super Bowl, the claim that Tocchet, who was expected to nursemaid Gretzky through his first season as a coach, was a ringleader of the gambling enterprise represents a graver charge.
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In North American sport, an athlete gambling on another sport is regarded as a far more serious offence than steroid use. Amid rumours that other National Hockey League players will be implicated, the league has appointed Robert Cleary, a former federal prosecutor, to conduct an inquiry. Tocchet was placed on indefinite leave by the Coyotes, but there was no suggestion of Gretzky being asked to skip the Olympics. “Wayne should be here,” said Bob Nicholson, the president of Hockey Canada, in Turin. “He has been the leader of this team since day one.”
Canada are 7-4 favourites to retain their ice hockey title. Not that anybody dare mention the odds.