A Fleury of Events

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What do you do when you have achieved the highest acolades in your profession…and still find your life to be a painful, sordid mess?

At some point in the last few years, Theoren Fleury must have asked himself that question. 

Fleury was a part of the Calgary Flames’ only Stanley Cup championship team in the 1988 - 89 National Hockey League season.  On top of that, Fleury had played on world championship teams at both the junior and pro levels.  One of his post goal celebrations was often replayed before the hockey games on CBC on Saturday nights.  It’s fair to say that Fleury is one of Canada’s most famous sports figures.  His fierce play on the ice was punctuated by his offensive statistics that showed up often on the scoresheet.

Theo attempted a comeback to the NHL this past fall, at age 41.  He tried out for his old team and even played in some exhibition games.  In his final preseason contest, he was given a standing ovation by an appreciative crowd who realized that their former hero most likely was not returning to the fold, as the younger and faster players on this year’s squad were simply better than this aged warrior.

On the heels of his attempted comeback and subsequent retirement, Fleury released a book called “Playing With Fire.”  The intention of the book was to talk about the highs of winning and the euphoria of basking in the championship spotlight.  The book is garnering much attention, however, because of Fleury’s raw and open portrayal of a champion walking a very thin line between life and death; within the pages of “Playing With Fire”, Fleury discusses his ordeal in being a victim of sexual abuse.

I haven’t read the book, but I was in the car this week when Fleury was a guest on the Fan 590 to promote his book.  I made sure to keep my radio tuned not only while I was in the car but also once I got into the church office.  I didn’t want to miss what I knew would be a very revealing and frank discussion from a guy who would talk like he played: without pulling punches.

What I heard was an incredible and courageous story about a man who was ready to face his personal demons head on.  Giving some details as to his relationship with his alleged abuser, he is even honest enough to say that he couldn’t explain some of his own decision making in regards to things like investing in a joint business venture with the same man who had treated him in a highly inappropriate physical manner.  He even says that he considered suicide, to the point that he had a loaded gun in his mouth, ready to pull the trigger.  Interestingly enough, Fleury, who to my knowledge is not a religious man, credits his being alive to divine intervention; during the interview, he said it was like the ‘lights went on’ and he realized that he had never quit at anything in his life, so why was he quitting on life period?

During this difficult time in his life, this wealthy, successful, and gifted athlete found himself in a Chicago crackhouse, desperate for a high, viewed upon by the other ‘patrons’ of this particular place as being ‘crazy.’  But deep pain can do that to someone: drive them to means that are far below them in an attempt to apprehend an end that is temporarily satisfying but eternally damning.

Fleury said in his interview that he has overcome the vices in his life - formerly a heavy alcoholic as well as drug abuser, he testifies to being sober for four years running - and credits his current wife Jennifer with ‘being the stronger of the two’ throughout what has amounted into a healing process.  At 41, despite his rough lifestyle, both interviewers Hogan and Toth were saying how he looks more like a twenty something versus resembling anything close to his actual age.

This story touches me because I can imagine that the work to recover from sexual abuse is monumental.  I’ve known some people who have suffered physical violation, and I’ve seen its ugly and unsettling ripples in their lives.  Some people don’t ever fully recover.  I recall a dark chapter of the old Maple Leaf Gardens was the allegations that several young boys had been abused somewhere in those ‘hallowed halls.’  Some of these victims never rebounded because they found the weight of living is much more than ending it all.

At the very least, we all need to tip our hats to Theoren Fleury.  When there is so much bad news or trivial pursuit happening in the news today, it’s good to hear the story of a survivor.  If anything, we in the Christian community need to hold Theo up in prayer.  It’s not easy doing what he’s doing, and as he recognized once in his life, he will need divine intervention to keep him in the good place he is now enjoying.

(MacLean’s wrote an article which contains some more of Fleury’s story.  Click this link to check it out: http://www2.macleans.ca/tag/theoren-fleury-abuse/).

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