Police Blotter

The Penalty For That Youth Hockey Coach Who Tripped An Opposing Player In A Handshake Line: 15 Days In Jail

Remember the Worst Guy Ever? The Worst Guy Ever is what we called a youth hockey coach in Vancouver, Martin Tremblay, who got in some hot water for tripping an opposing player in the handshake line following a game. Supposedly the coach tried to claim he just slipped on the ice, but the video evidence made that claim appear questionable, if we’re being kind. (If we were being less kind, we might say, “…like a steaming pile of bullshit.”) That video evidence:

Anyway, one of the players broke his wrist, there was a police investigation into Tremblay’s actions, and he pleaded guilty to assault in November. It wasn’t until now, though, that we learned Tremblay’s sentence: 15 days in jail. The reasoning:

Richmond provincial court Judge Patrick Chen gave Tremblay jail time, saying he wasn’t satisfied that time served in the community was enough to denounce or deter the man for his actions.

On the one hand, this makes us think: “Damn, jail time for that? They’re not messing around.” On the other, we think, “15 days is… not that much.” Of course, in the grand scheme of crime, being the Worst Guy Ever and tripping a kid doesn’t really rate, either – and considering Dharun Ravi was released after serving 20 days of a 30-day sentence for spying on Tyler Clementi, 15 days in the can is pretty serious business. And given that Worst Guy Ever pleaded guilty to assault and the target of that assault was a kid, we’d say they’re 15 days well-earned.