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Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty
Uhh did anyone read the articles?
We've had this discussion multiple times before on CP. High profile athletes are more likely to be accused of things such as this because of money.
The lawsuit ended in a settlement. For all we know the girl was lying and the Ribeiro side settled for cheaper than it would have been to defend. Or there wasn't enough evidence on their side. Or he did indeed sexually assault her. Either way, we don't know based on the information given.
Plenty of good hockey players do plenty of ####ty things. We don't know for sure if he's one of them.
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I respect the presumption of innocence with respect to criminal charges but a finding that someone has not been proved beyond a reasonable doubt to be guilty of a crime or has chosen to settle a lawsuit rather than proceed to trial certainly does not mean the alleged events did not take place, nor does it shield the person accused from public scrutiny.
Moreover, I really dislike the suggestion that young wealthy male sports stars are victims of false accusations. The accused in this case gave a sworn statement that she was sexually assaulted both before and after the age of 18. Her statement also is entitled to the presumption of truth. Rather than challenge her version of events, Ribeiro elected to settle. I am quite comfortable in drawing an inference that the incidents that were alleged took place. The only realistic mitigating factor is that his egregious behaviour was influenced by an addiction which if resolved may entitle him to a second chance. You'd be a fool not to at least be curious about why the Predators would now cut bait. It doesn't seem to be a hockey-based decision.