Poile on Tootoo
Published
JOSH COOPER, The Tennessean
Published on December 27, 2010
in Team News
. 0 Comments
A sta*te*ment from Nash*vi*lle Gene*ral Mana*ger David Poile on Jor*din Tootoo:
“We offer Jor*din the full sup*port of his team*ma*tes, coaches and the orga*ni*za*tion. There is no time*ta*ble for his return and we will have no further com*ment at this time.”
Good for him to voluntarily enter the program. HUGE step to recognize you need help to quit.
Does anyone know what it's for? I'm assuming alcohol since there is drug testing for all NHL players?
GL Toots, been a fan ever since I saw you in the WJC!
We all know what happens when you assume, but if I had to make an assumption I would say alcohol. He has a reputation of being quite a bar-hopper (not that there's necessarily anything wrong with people doing that) and if I remember correctly, back several years ago his brother committed suicide while dealing with alcohol problems. Not really an assumption on my part but an educated guess. Either way good for him.
With what happened to his brother (he actually wears the number 22 in honour of his brother, 22 was his brother's # because he was older and got it first iirc), and with all he's been through to get to this point, you got to be praying for a good outcome on this.
To a lot of Canadian youths in the North, especially the Inuit and other First Nations where there is an unfortunate level of substance abuse problems, he's held as a role model and all the best to him. Poile, Trotz and the new ownership strike me as the classy kind of people who will handle this with patience and the right priorities.
Good luck, Tootoo! I have a great deal of admiration for people who will stand up and recognize their problems, and seek the help they need to beat them. I've seen people wait until they've wrecked their lives, so it's good that he's being proactive about this.
Toots was my favorite player when he played those seasons in the Ads uni. Good luck. He'll be a Pred for life, I know he must be very popular with the organization and fans.
I've always had a lot of respect for Tootoo and wish him and his family the best while he goes through this. It's a testament to his character that he entered the program voluntarily.
Nice to see fans of other teams wishing him well too.
Not only do the American Indians and the Alaskan natives have trouble with substance abuse because of their social and economic plight, but also, many Asian peoples, which include some Alaskan and American Indian peoples, are allergic to alcohol. I worked with a half Japanese girl many years ago who would turn beet red from head to toe and do some very strange things with less than an ounce of booze of any kind. I wish Jordin the best and send love and strength to him in order for him to beat this devil, because that is what it is. I know from personal experience that many,many people, me being one of them, cannot have 'just one'.
In addition to the sensitivity to alcohol that predslady mentioned, addictions specialists who believe that there is a gene related to addiction also believe that said gene is much more prevalent in the Native American/Inuit community.
In between whatever addictions may exist, Tootoo's family background, and the tragedy he has been through in his life, it is no surprise that he found himself in this situation. I really hope this is a positive experience for him and that he gets himself cleaned up both physically and mentally.
It's likely that Jordin Tootoo was asked to "voluntarily" check himself in after failing drug tests. That's how the NHL works in these situations, it's all about image. Instead of people getting fired, they're "asked to step down", for example.
Either way, regardless of the technicalities of this situation, I'm very happy that he'll be getting help and wish him the best. He'll be missed, that's for sure.
Last edited by SLake: 12-28-2010 at 07:59 PM.
Reason: Rumors don't meet libel criteria...
i finally heard the story about all this...and all i have to say about it now is jordin is very lucky to have a coach and an organization that cares about him to the point of sacrificing on ice success to make sure jordin does not have a terrible accident. i am not so sure other org. would be so helpful to a 4th line grinder.
In addition to the sensitivity to alcohol that predslady mentioned, addictions specialists who believe that there is a gene related to addiction also believe that said gene is much more prevalent in the Native American/Inuit community.
In between whatever addictions may exist, Tootoo's family background, and the tragedy he has been through in his life, it is no surprise that he found himself in this situation. I really hope this is a positive experience for him and that he gets himself cleaned up both physically and mentally.
It's likely that Jordin Tootoo was asked to "voluntarily" check himself in after failing drug tests. That's how the NHL works in these situations, it's all about image. Instead of people getting fired, they're "asked to step down", for example.
Either way, regardless of the technicalities of this situation, I'm very happy that he'll be getting help and wish him the best. He'll be missed, that's for sure.
I don't know if I would say it was "likely" it's possible yes I don't know if likely fits here though.
