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THE fifth estate: Whose Life is it, Anyway?
The Patrick O'Sullivan Story > Printer
Version
Broadcast
March 17, 2004
The past year has been a good one for Patrick
O'Sullivan. His team, the Mississauga Ice Dogs has reached the OHL playoffs
with him as it's leading scorer. (visit the Ontario
Hockey League site to see O'Sullivan's stats)
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In January 2004 he played the final game of
the World Junior Hockey Championships in Helsinki, Finland for Team USA.
Although it looked like a sure win for Canada, Patrick scored two crucial
goals, including the one that clinched the gold medal for the United States
- the first one ever for it's junior hockey team.
There were so many other years - growing up - when hockey not only gave
Patrick the best of times, but also the worst.
PATRICK O'SULLIVAN: I've had to persevere in my personal
life and I had the crazy hockey parent that was going to prevent me from
ever going really far in hockey. (Read the
entire interview with Patrick O'Sullivan online)
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Patrick's father, John O'Sullivan, arrived in North Carolina from Toronto in 1981 to play in the minor leagues for the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. He was a fourth-line forward and known as a fighter on the ice.
O' Sullivan met and married a local girl, Cathie Martin. Before long, they had their first child, Patrick. He was the apple of his dad's eye.
CATHIE MARTIN: He always used to have a stick on his hand when he was little. He used to be two years old and he'd dress up like a hockey player in front of the TV and do the national anthem.
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Now, John O'Sullivan had a new dream. He
would help his son reach the heights of hockey that had eluded him.
A HOCKEY FAMILY
To provide Patrick with more opportunities and play
in a more competitive league the family left North Carolina for his father's
hometown, Toronto. John O' Sullivan became Patrick's coach and drill instructor.
At Patrick's games, his voice was the loudest. He would shout out instructions
that went well beyond fatherly advice.
| KIDS
HELP LINE: A 24 hour service for children/teenagers who feel that they're in a situation like Patrick's. Call 1 800 668 6868 |
CATHIE MARTIN: It was
verbal abuse. John's very, very loud, so when he would yell at the hockey
rink, everybody could hear it and he was the coach on the bench.
As Patrick's game got better, his father's behaviour got worse. After
one particular game, John stopped the car a mile from their home and made
Patrick run the rest of the way as punishment for not playing well enough.
Cathie Martin says the abuse started early, at the age of nine.
CATHIE MARTIN: Hitting, pushing, kicking, punching,
throwing stuff. If you got in the way of it, tough luck. He didn't care
what he did to hurt.
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MOE MANTHA: Sometimes parents like to live their dreams in their kid's heads. And I think that was the situation where John was so close but never got the chance.
Mantha had no idea how bad it actually was. One night Patrick was reluctant to leave the team's dressing room after a game. He feared that he had not played well enough and was scared to walk outside and face his father.
MOE MANTHA: I tried talking about it to John sometimes. I always said two things are going to happen. One is that he's going to turn 18, and he's going to kick you out of his life. Or two, he's going to quit hockey.
THE MISSISSAUGA ICE DOGS
In the meantime Team USA won two world age-class championships and Patrick was considered to be a top prospect for the Ontario Hockey League. In 2001 he was drafted by the Mississauga Ice Dogs - then owned by Don Cherry.
Cherry even had a chance to meet with John O'Sullivan before the draft.
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DON CHERRY: I thought he
was a great guy, He just seemed like a normal guy and hockey parent.
But Joe Washkurak, one of Cherry's assistant coaches and volunteeer co-ordinator
for Victim Services with the Toronto Police remembered John O'Sullivan
in a different way. He recounted him as being loud and intimidating, especially
to his son. He soon recognized the signs of abuse.
JOE WASHKURAK: Patrick had some scratches on
his face and I said, "what happened?" And he just looked at
me and he says, "You know exactly what happened."
Washkurak knew Patrick had confrontations with his father but nobody realized
how bad it really was.
PATRICK O'SULLIVAN: My dad would hit me.
BOB MCKEOWN: For what reason?
PATRICK O'SULLIVAN: Pretty much any reason
he could. A lot of it was hockey though. I guess he thought by treating
me like that it was going to make me a better hockey player. It would
usually come to physical confrontation and the older I got, the worse
it got.
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He wasn't having a good night and assistant
coach Washkurak could hear his father's wrath in the stands. John was
pounding on the glass shouting to his son that his hockey career was over.
JOE WASHKURAK: I remember that night particularly
because it was the worst he's been.
BOB MCKEOWN: How did Patrick respond?
JOE WASHKURAK: He was pretty embarrassed. A lot of
our players were looking at each other like - this doesn't happen. This
isn't supposed to happen in major junior hockey. There's 10,000 people
here.
| KIDS
HELP LINE: A 24 hour service for children/teenagers who feel that they're in a situation like Patrick's. Call 1 800 668 6868 |
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MAKING A STAND
The next day Patrick filed assault charges against his father. John O'Sullivan was arrested, plead guilty and spent a month in jail. The court granted Patrick a restraining order prohibiting his father from coming within a kilometre of him or any hockey game in which he played in Canada.
Shortly thereafter, Cathie filed for divorce.
CATHIE MARTIN: I could see that weight was lifted off of him within three days of him playing after we left John. It was as if a light bulb had gone off - it was amazing. Even Don Cherry said he's totally different in the locker room, he's a totally different person.
But despite the restraining order, John O'Sullivan continued to show up at Patrick's games. The police were called on several occasions. With every game he played Patrick wondered if his dad would be there somewhere in the stands.
CATHIE MARTIN: He's been to court. He's been in jail a couple of times. He's been arrested for violating - it doesn't matter. It's like talking to a wall. I don't care what happens to him as long as he stays away and leaves us alone.
INTERVIEW WITH JOHN O'SULLIVAN
Today John Sullivan lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina about 1 mile from where Patrick's mother and sisters live.
He continues to reach out to Patrick, writing to offer advice on hockey and life. In a recent letter he asked Patrick to drop the restraining order and appealed for a reconciliation reminding him that they share 'the love of the sport' and 'the drive to be the best - at any price.'
the fifth estate's Bob McKeown spoke to John O'Sullivan. (read the entire interview online)
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BOB MCKEOWN: Was that the
right deal for Patrick? To pay any price for success.
JOHN O'SULLIVAN: That's just the way it worked
out really. I wanted him to be a great player and he will be. But obviously
I went overboard.
BOB MCKEOWN: You admit that you want over the
line?
JOHN O'SULLIVAN: I kicked him in the ass twice.
I got kicked in the ass a dozen times when I was growing up and I deserved
it every time. They charged me. And I got what I deserved and I learned
a lot. I went to anger management.
BOB MCKEOWN: But is there any reason that you've
given me that would justify physical violence?
JOHN O'SULLIVAN: I know that you can't lay
your hands on anyone now. But if you would have told me that two and a
half years ago, I would have thought maybe, you'd like to fight, you know?
John O'Sullivan claims he's paid a high price.
JOHN O'SULLIVAN: I've paid the biggest price
you could and that's my family, because they're most important to me.
But John O'Sullivan would continue to cast a long shadow over his son's
promising hockey career.
Always a top prospect, Patrick had been scouted and scrutinized
since his early teens.
He'd been ranked as high as 14th among all eligible players in North America
- a guaranteed first round pick for the NHL draft.
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But with millions of dollars on the line, NHL teams leave
nothing to chance. The days before the draft are packed with medical exams
and physical tests. One of the most crucial stepping stones is the team
interview - part job application, part psychological evaluation. Patrick's
history was already common knowledge among NHL executives.
PATRICK O'SULLIVAN: I can understand how the teams
would be leery of someone in my situation, I think.
THE NHL DRAFT
Eighteen months after the disastrous night in Ottawa, Patrick was at the
pinnacle of his hockey career and about to be selected to a NHL team.
The hockey league was so concerned they assigned two bodyguards to Patrick
the day of the draft. (the Canadian restraining order wasn't in effect
in Nashville, Tennessee)
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When the first round came to an end, 30 players had been chosen and Patrick was not one of them. Across the arena, John O'Sullivan repeatedly gestured to his family. He wondered what had gone wrong.
CATHIE MARTIN: It was as if what's wrong with you? What have you done?
BOB MCKEOWN: Would he not know that perhaps he was one of the reasons why?
CATHIE MARTIN: He has no idea.
Just before the end of the second round - 56th - Patrick was chosen by the Minnesota Wild.
DON CHERRY: That hurt him because he had the numbers. He should have been a first rounder all the way.
BOB MCKEOWN: So a general manager would look at him and say...
DON CHERRY: Don't want the problem.
MEETING WITH A HOCKEY HERO
Then Patrick got a message that Wayne Gretzky wanted to see him.
WAYNE GRETZKY: I just wanted to be able to say to him what you're doing is better than anyone else. You've stood up not only for other kids who are being physically and mentally abused, but you've stood up for yourself. I wanted to go over and shake his hand. (Read the entire interview with Gretzky online)
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PATRICK O'SULLIVAN: He said he thought I had a good future ahead of me and he thought I was a good hockey player. For someone who's the greatest player to ever play the game, to give me a compliment like that, it was the ultimate compliment.
In the fall of 2003 Patrick O'Sullivan attended training camp with the Minnesota Wild.
He's spent this season with the Mississauga Ice Dogs where he's been the lead scorer. The betting is that soon he'll be playing with the NHL.
the fifth estate: Whose
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