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PITTSBURGH — Freedom of expression could become an issue in the NHL in the wake of a controversy over Philadelphia Flyer forward Riley Cote's MySpace page and the fact many of the league's players, especially the younger ones, are regular users of Internet sites like MySpace and Facebook.com.
Cote's MySpace page became an issue after the Winnipeg Sun published a story on Friday pointing out it contained a link to Cote's cousin, Sean Wolfe, who is a full-fledged member of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang. The page also had a banner supporting the Winnipeg chapter of Hell's Angels, but it was taken down by Friday afternoon.
Cote, 26, is an enforcer for the Flyers and has only dressed for three of the Flyers' 12 post-season games. The Winnipeg native was not happy the matter surfaced in the middle of the playoffs but defended his right to post what he wants on the Internet.
"It shouldn't be an issue right now in the Stanley Cup playoffs," he said after the Flyers' morning skate in preparation for the opening game of the Eastern Conference final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. "I can't believe someone would stoop so low to bring that up now.
"[Wolfe] is my cousin.. He's my family. What do you want me to do?I can't change anything about it," Cote said. "I support him."
Cote also has his own web site — rileycote.com — but there is no mention of his cousin on the site.
There are more than 700 players in the NHL and it is becoming common for players, especially the most popular ones, to have their own web sites. Many more have MySpace and Facebook pages, although it is not known how many.
At this point, the NHL does not keep an eye on players' cyberspace activities and does not have a policy for them. This is the second Internet controversy this season, following an embarrassing incident for rookie Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jiri Tlusty. He sent a nude photo of himself to a woman by e-mail and it wound up on several web sites.
"We don't monitor players' individual and personal sites," NHL spokesman Frank Brown said in an e-mail message, "nor do we have any specific policy beyond our general policies requiring players to be good citizens."
Cote said he and Wolfe, 31, were close while they were growing up in Winnipeg and described him as "my older brother." Wolfe has had some minor brushes with the law.
"He does his thing, I do my thing," Cote said. "He chose one path, I chose another. That's a perfect example of people choosing their own destinies."
When it comes to community and charity work, Cote is one of the most active members of the Flyers. He was named man-of-the-year by the Flyers' farm team, the Philadelphia Phantoms, after the 2005-06 season.
