IOC to investigate Canadian women's hockey team for celebration

[ensho]

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/IOC-to-investigate-Canadian-women-s-hockey-team-;_ylt=AmvSJ08R.oqQlvW7.HT_y_totLV_?urn=oly,224338


The International Olympic Committee will investigate the actions of Canadian women's hockey players who celebrated their gold medal victory Thursday night by swigging beer and smoking cigars on the ice in Vancouver.

A number of players, including 18-year-old superstar Marie-Philip Poulin, were drinking alcohol on the ice following the team's 2-0 defeat of the United States. (The legal drinking age in British Columbia is 19.) Players lingered for more than 70 minutes after the awards ceremony reveling in the arena, which was empty except for media and arena staff. (Click here to view a slideshow of the celebration.)

Gilbert Felli, the IOC's executive director of the Olympic Games, said that drinking in public was "not what we want to see" from athletes at an Olympic venue. The organization will investigate the actions and will speak with the international hockey federation and Canadian Olympic Committee and ask them to "act accordingly."

-snip-

To be sure, the Canadian women's hockey team should have acted with more class and been a little more discreet with its celebration. But to do something drastic like ban the team from the Closing Ceremony or force them out of the Olympic Village would be an overreaction. In past Olympics we've seen steroids, political boycotts, cheating and judging scandals. A few puffs of a cigar hardly seems to be in the same league.
----------------------------

there is a pic you might want to see (wouldn't copy)

the women have worked hard for a number of years to get their win - what's a little celebration?
go women!

(what is it they call a cigar stuffed with weed?)

[petronius]

1. Can you imagine if the IOC tried to keep a gold-medal-winning Canadian hockey

team out of the closing? :rofl: The ass-whupping would be heard for 1000s of miles...

[HeresyLives]

2. How shocking! Beer and cigars!

The IOC tends to live in the Victorian era.

They don't like women's hockey to begin with, this will upset them greatly.

[EFerrari]

20. Maybe they should have used sherry instead.

lol

[ensho]

44. of course, the gentlewoman's drink

nt

[liberal N proud]

3. This is crap

They won, they deserve a little celebration.

I think you are reefer-ing to a blunt, a cigar stuffed with weed. (not positive).

[ensho]

7. that's it - I couldn't remember - thanks

nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. Everybody who has a problem with this should go fuck themselves.

I'm talking eating shit and dying.

Everybody.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

28. The celebration or the investigation?

I'm trying to make dinner plans.

[KittyWampus]

5. Winners don't know how to win. Losers don't know how to lose.

[Inuca]

6. Idiotic n/t

[madrchsod]

8. they do`t give a fuck what anyone thinks....

they busted their asses to beat the crap out of the rest of the world for canada. they do`t get a dime from the money grubbing Olympic committee and nbc. they may score some endorsements and a few promotion dollars but that just chump change.

so go smoke some more blunts and down some beers and have a good time!

[Viking12]

9. They're hockey players, not nuns. Get over it IOC.

[Captain Hilts]

13. Hockey and beer and a HUGE part of Canadian culture. It's good to see women

enjoy a few pieces of the pie.

Capt. Hilts, a United Statesian who spends a lot of time in Toronto.

[Viking12]

19. I grew up in Minnesota. I am very familiar with the culture.

If it weren't for my home state's douchebag governor, MN could easily be mistaken for southern Canada.

[polly7]

26. I'd like to know why the picture was cropped to make it look like she

was passed out on the ice? The original one showed a team-mate right beside her and the commentary said they were enjoying looking up at the 5-story roof of the rink they'd just won in.

[madmom]

10. They must have been having a little too much fun for the freaking prudes.

[Captain Hilts]

11. With all the problems the Olympics has, they're "investigating" THIS? Lame. nt

[HeresyLives]

12. Well, they've had to apologize in hopes they

don't get thumped, but since Rogge was talking about eliminating women's hockey anyway, it doesn't help the situation.

We're talking a huge culture difference here, and unfortunately Rogge is the one in charge.

[bullwinkle428]

14. Kiss my ass, IOC!

:mad:

[Tim01]

15. Fucking stupid. nt

[WolverineDG]

16. Gee, ya think if the IOC gets their panties in a twist over booze

they would ban it from all the venues & the Olympic village. :eyes:

dg

[Cerridwen]

17. Don'tcha just fuckin' hate it when those goddamned women refuse

to be ladylike after they've whomped the shit out of the opposition?!

[maxrandb]

18. Oh No!!! She's driving a Zamboni under the influence!

Arrest that woman for ZUI!

[Edweird]

21. Hey, they sent the snowboarder home, so....

[berni_mccoy]

22. No, they didn't. He left on his own.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978068417&grpId=3659174697259360

Still, Lago says he left on his own. He indicated that he hadn't been asked to leave, but decided it was a good idea.

[Edweird]

23. Yeah. Right. Just decided to pack up and go home. No reason. Bullshit.

No 20-something is gonna leave a place that has emergency shipments of condoms coming.

They gave him an ultimatum, as I recall.

[global1]

24. Seems To Me There Is An Olympic Image That Needs To Be Taken Into Consideration.....

I don't begrudge this team for celebrating their Gold Medal but they should have done it in a more professional Olympic image manner. Olympians should be role models. They should have waited until the Olympics were over to let it all hang out.

If I were a parent of a sports minded lady - I would be upset that this display would somehow say to my child that this type of behavior was 'ok'.

This Canadian team should have used a little more decorum in their celebration and like I said above - waited until after the media and camera's left Vancouver to really celebrate in this fashion.

I know that I'll probably be considered a fuddy-duddy for this opinion - but that is how I feel about this.

[rufus dog]

38. I don't disagree with you completely

but we have champaign and beer celebrations in Hockey, Basketball, Baseball, Football. So to publicly call out an Olympic team seems a bit over the top.

[Dulcinea]

25. If I had just won a gold medal, I'd be drinking beer & smoking cigars too.

Get a life, IOC!

[Prometheus Bound]

27. Disgusting. Do you know what else one of them did ?

"One player was photographed sitting in the driver's seat of an ice resurfacing machine parked on the rink."

Just horrible. What will the kids think when they see their role models doing stuff like that?

IOC downplays Canadian women's gold medal celebration
http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/downplays+Canadian+women+gold+medal+celebration/2618299/story.html

[slampoet]

29. It takes the IOC YEARS to investigate Mormon Bribery but less than 24 hours to shit on women doing

something that is LEGAL.

[KamaAina]

31. Well, except for the one 18-year-old...

hmmm.. in the NCAA, that'd make her an ineligible player... Gold (or platinum :P ) to the USA! :sarcasm:

[slampoet]

37. In BC it is legal to drink underage with supervising parents present.

In three provinces of Canada the legal age is 18 even though the age is 19 in British Columbia.

If the 18 year old had their parents there or was from a province where the age is 18 i can see every judge in Canada laughing this out of court.

In general, the judiciary in Canada seems to see clogged courts, high costs, and useless prosecutions to be bigger enemies to the people than petty crimes. i suppose that is what the USA system would be like if we cared about reforming people rather than just getting revenge for the victims (if any).

[4lbs]

30. Heck, I'm American and I don't see anything wrong with what the Canadian women did.

They worked hard for 4 years for Olympic glory, and got it.

Celebrate until you pass out from exhaustion!

[WolverineDG]

32. So why aren't they investigating the winner of Canada's first gold on home soil?

Just saw footage of him downing beer in a stein the size of a pony keg.

dg

[upi402]

33. lighten up IOC n/t

[rcrush]

34. Well at least they weren't smoking pot in celebration.

Think of the children.

[Brickbat]

35. This hockey-playing, beer-drinking, smoke-missing woman thinks the investigation is a bunch of CRAP!

Gilbert Felli can suck it.

[rufus dog]

36. Oh for shits sake

They played a tough game in front of the home crowd and made a bad decision and partied on the ice. They weren't disrespectful to other teams, it should have been a phone call from an Olympic official saying don't do that again and move on. The bigger issue is Rogge is pissy about Women's Hockey because after Canada and the US the competition is weak, so they are threatening to pull the sport. (Like they did to Softball)
So in 1992 the US Pros beat the shit out of everyone in Basketball and 10 years later struggles to medal. It is BS, should Bobsled be pulled? (Germany dominates) Nordic Events? Give me a break, other Countries will catch up.

[Retrograde]

39. Is smoking normally prohibited in that building?

If so, I can understand the objection because smoke lingers, and cigar smoke especially stinks. Otherwise, if they want to hang around an otherwise empty building and have a beer or three, big deal. And if they invited the other teams all the better.

[Moses2SandyKoufax]

40. Yes smoking is prohibited at GM Place.

The venue is still needed for two more days of competition. If I were scheduled to play a game on that ice I wouldn't appreciate the lingering odor.

[KonaKane]

41. Oh for christ's sake

Here we go again. Lagos, Act II.

Grow the hell UP, people.

[chollybocker]

42. "This Manufactured IOC Outrage has been brought to you by Molson Golden."

"Drown the Podium!"

[Prometheus Bound]

43. Canadian women's hockey team stunned by reaction to post-gold party

.....Gilbert Felli, IOC executive director of the Olympic Games, surprisingly started the outrage ball rolling when informed of the celebration Thursday night. Said Felli: "If that's the case, that is not good. It is not what we want to see."

By Friday, the IOC had downgraded that to: "To be honest I think people are in search of a story that doesn't exist," according to spokesman Mark Adams.

"It's really unfortunate," said captain Hayley Wickenheiser, who was not part of the on-ice celebration. "We just won an Olympic gold medal in our country and today we're having to defend how we celebrated our Olympic gold medal.

"Nobody got hurt. It was not done in bad taste. It is tough, but at the same time, it'll be fine."

The players have trained together since August and played 55 games together heading into the Olympics. They were simply blowing off steam, she explained.

.....The image that raised the most eyebrows was of 18-year-old forward Marie-Philip Poulin, who scored both goals for Canada, with a beer in her hand. She doesn't turn 19, the legal drinking age in British Columbia, until next month. The drinking age in Alberta, where the Canadian team trains, and Poulin's native Quebec is 18.

Wickenheiser countered that Stanley Cup teams have 18-year-old men on their rosters, yet images of champagne flowing freely in dressing rooms are captured on television cameras.

"I don't know why this is such a big deal or any different than any other celebration," she said. "It was all done in good taste. I'm not ashamed or embarrassed by it at all."

Still, Poulin was contrite............

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/olympics/hockey-canada-apologizes-after-canadian-hockey-women-booze-it-up-on-the-ice-85455662.html