Bobby Hull, one of the most dominant and respected players ever to don a Winnipeg Jets jersey, who was to be honoured by True North Sports & Entertainment and the Winnipeg Jets along with "Hot Line" line mates Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg; has decided to pass on being present to accept the induction.
Why? It's simple really. With all the controversy surrounding his induction, due to many Winnipeggers not at all thrilled about honouring a man who had allegedly beat his wife during their marriage of 20 years; Hull has decided to take himself out of the equation. He's still going into the Hall, he just won't be there in person to accept. I'm sure having to field personal questions that I'm sure he has had to answer numerous times before isn't the funnest thing he can think of doing. But also, taking the rightful spotlight off of his former line mates isn't something he's very much interested in either. Call it what you will. Avoiding the elephant in the room or whatever. He's doing the right thing by by-passing the sure-to-be media circus of matters time past.
Not to minimize domestic violence, and I totally understand why people would not support anyone of that caliber of character, but is this induction about his accomplishment on the ice, or what he did in his private life? It certainly is about the accomplishments of his teammates, Nilsson and Hedberg. No one is going to be asking them about their personal life. Don't think they won't have to attempt to answer questions about Hull either. That shouldn't be put on them, but it will be.
