By Melanie Jacob
Journal Staff Writer
mjacob@humboldtjournal.ca
In an arena filled with more than 1,000 high school students from various communities, famous former NHL star Theo Fleury delivered a speech about adversity and overcoming the odds.
"They told me I was small, vertically challenged," said Fleury. "But when I look in the mirror, I don't see someone that's small or short, I see someone who's willing to do anything, work harder than anybody, practice harder. I'm resilient. I'm tough and smart, so it was water off a duck's back."
It was that strong determination that got Fleury from his rural life in Oxbow, Sask. to his first real foray into hockey in Winnipeg. It was also what landed him in the clutches of junior coach Graham James, the same scout that encouraged him to play in Winnipeg.
"At 15-years-old, I moved to Winnipeg and needless to say that decision changed me for the rest of my life," said Fleury. "For the next two years, that scout (Graham James) raped me over 150 times and what I was left with was a lot of shame, a lot of guilt, a lot of anger and confusion and I was completely alone."
The silence in the arena after Fleury's confession was deafening. He continued to tell his story of how his climb in the professional hockey world ran parallel to his descent into the world of drugs and alcohol addiction.
"Once you cross that line from casual to full time partier, drinker, druggie, we end up in three places: first one is jail second place is institutionalized and the third one: death. You die."
Despite his story of hardship and darkness, Fleury didn't focus on the mistakes he made. Instead, he used those as a starting point to explain what he did wrong and how they could do better.
"So if you're out there right now and you're experimenting or you've already crossed the line or you're thinking about joining the peer pressure group, don't do it," he said. "If you do, you're going to have the same story as me. I could write your book. The book isn't going to be fun, it's going to be a lot of pain, a lot of sorrow, a lot of anger, and a lot of messed up relationships. There are far better things that you could do with your life."
The silence of the arena was broken only by applause when Fleury stated the exact day he gave up alcohol and drugs.
"That shame that I was talking about that I was carrying around for my whole entire life? It was never my shame to bear; it belongs to my abuser. It doesn't belong to me," he said. "It is okay to ask for help. If you ask for help it means you have courage and care about yourself and you're tired of living in pain."
Instead of turning to drugs to escape difficulties, Fleury instead spoke about how only hard work would get people to where they needed to go.
"If you're willing to work, you will get everything you want in life," said Fleury. "I also grew up in a farming community, just like you guys. And I saw people get up at 6 in the morning and work until 10 at night and they all had one thing in common: they were all successful people."
The end of Fleury's tale was concluded with his realization after his book was released. People began calling him and many of them were saying the same thing: "me too." Before long, Fleury had received over 500,000 messages, all of them saying the same thing.
"I had over 500,000 reveals since my book came out and you know what? I found the purpose for my life," he said. "I had no idea that book would help people find their own voice to say me too. Because child sexual abuse and child trauma is the biggest epidemic on the planet, bar none."
Fleury finished his story with a final message: nobody in this world deserves to be molested, abused, or bullied. Rather, each human being deserves love, respect, and caring.
Following his speech, students were able to get signatures from him or have their picture taken with him. The lobby of the Humboldt Uniplex was filled with students and staff and the lineup was long. Many seemed to have been affected in some way by what he had said.
"I was surprised by how long (his trauma) went on for," said Jared Giddings, one of the Grade 10 students in attendance. "I'm glad he came out and shared his story. It's stuff we'll take away."
For other students, there was a different message to be remembered.
"What really stood out to me were the three values he was taught on his first team: respect, loving your teammates, and consequences," said Dawson Atamanchuk, a Grade 11 student. "I also really like how he tied it all together and then stopped drinking and how one event just stopped it all."
Overall, it seemed Fleury's speech had an impact on many of the students that were present at the Humboldt Uniplex on June 11. Many left with either signed jerseys or photos next to the former NHL star.
