PHT has received a copy of the complaint and jury demand filed against Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov.
In it, the plaintiff -- Evgeniya Vavrinyuk, Varlamov’s ex-girlfriend -- alleges a series of domestic abuse incidents between November 2012 and October 2013. The suit also alleges that Vavrinyuk suffers from “depression, sleeplessness, emotional pain, and severe emotional distress.”
The lawyer representing Vavrinyuk, Keith Fink, wrote the following to PHT via email:
Obviously this case is very important. Professional sports organizations and collegiate programs need a wake-up call that domestic violence is an extremely serious issue and a huge problem that must be addressed with draconian penalties on an organizational and institutional level. The current laissez faire approach enables domestic violence and is not something our society countenance.
This is the NHL with the only difference between this organization and the NFL being the middle initial in the organization’s acronym. Individual teams by and large as well as the NHL are enablers. Wins and losses are the holy grail . Financial investments in contracts are paramount. Domestic violence is not taken as the very serious issue it is.
Varlamov was arrested on second-degree kidnapping and third-degree assault charges last October, but wasn’t suspended by the Avalanche or NHL and had his case dismissed in late December.
