The National Hockey League has asked a number of players to come forward and press charges against convicted sex offender Graham James, The Calgary Sun reported today.
"There have been reports that the NHL is advising those players not to come forward, but that is not the case at all," the newspaper quoted an unidentified league source as saying.James was sentenced last week to 3 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting two of his players while coaching the Western Hockey League's Swift Current Broncos.
Police have said they know of other victims, perhaps as many as 25, including one they described as a current "high profile" NHL player.
One of James' victims, Sheldon Kennedy of the Boston Bruins, came forward last weekend and described his years of abuse. The other victim hasn't revealed his identity.
The NHL Players Association also is urging players to step forward.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Globe and Mail said Thursday that a former WHL executive complained to then-league president Ed Chynoweth about a team owner who made sexual advances toward players, but nobody acted on the complaints.
Several former players have accused the late Portland Winter Hawks owner Ed Shaw of making sexual advances. Shaw died in 1993.