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| USA TODAY Sports
Slava Voynov’s NHL career effectively concluded after he was arrested and eventually pleaded no contest to abusing his wife in 2014.
Voynov, a Los Angeles Kings defenseman at the time, was suspended indefinitely after he choked, hit and pushed his wife inside their home in Redondo Beach, Calif.
After serving 90 days in jail, Voynov announced he would resume his career in his native Russia in 2015, where he plays in the KHL. He has been a cog on the Olympic Athletes from Russia team that has earned a bye into the quarterfinals of the men’s hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics.
“Mr. Voynov is eligible to participate in all international competitions,” a Twitter post from the Russian Team’s account read Tuesday. “Mr. Voynov and his wife are living together in a happy marriage.”
Voynov has refused to talk to the news media in Gangneung, site of the Olympic hockey center. In another Tweet on Tuesday, the Russian team requested “the media to respect the athlete’s privacy and immediately stop speculating on this matter.”
Mark Adams, spokesman for the IOC, said in a news conference on Tuesday that incidents first have to be reported to the sports federation — in this case the International Ice Hockey Federation — to determine whether the matter has been legally adjudicated.
“It’s initially for the federations to decide,” Adams said.
The Los Angeles Times reports Voynov remains on probation through July. And it’s hard to overlook the fact he also plays for a country that has been banned from the Olympics for running a state-sponsored doping program. The IOC has allowed 169 Russian athletes — all but one who is competing in South Korea — to participate in these Olympics.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law last year that decriminalized certain types of domestic violence, a move opposed by women’s rights group. Instead of the possibility of a two-year prison sentence, a first-time offender would face only a fine and a maximum 15-day jail sentence if the abuse inflicted does not require hospital treatment.
Reports of domestic violence have spiked in Russia since the law was changed.
The IIHF said its rules don’t preclude Voynov from international play.
“The IIHF does not have rules similar to the NHL that would provide it or the president the power to render Voynov ineligible for non-hockey related violations that did not occur in IIHF competitions,” spokesman Adam Steiss told The Associated Press. “We would have respected the NHL’s suspension if he was currently playing in the NHL.”
The KHL has allowed Voynov to play the last two seasons with SKA St. Petersburg.
“We have been reassured by the Russian National Olympic Committee … that ‘no court or other official decision has been ever rendered which would prevent Mr. Voynov from competing in international competitions and enjoying his athlete’s rights on an equal footing with other athletes,'” the IOC said in a statement to The Los Angeles Times.
“They have stressed that, ‘The court decision taken in the United States of America with regard to Mr. Voynov has been completely executed.
Voynov may be silent, but apparently NBC hockey analyst Mike Milbury remains one of his admirers.
“He left a huge void in the Los Angeles Kings’ defense, otherwise may have gone on to win more than the championships they did already,” Milbury said Saturday as the Russian team beat the U.S., 4-0 per The Chicago Tribune. “This guy was a special player, and an unfortunate incident left the Los Angeles Kings without a great defenseman.”
Contributing: Jim Michaels
Milbury issued the following statement:
“After my colleague laid out the facts about Voynov – which included being arrested, suspended by the NHL, and leaving the U.S. to return to Russia – I provided the on-ice impact of his being thrown out of the league. As I said at the time when he was suspended, the league made the right call, 100%.”
Follow A.J. Perez on Twitter @byajperez
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