A Vancouver minor hockey coach who was caught on camera tripping two teen players on an opposing team has pleaded guilty to assault.
Following an intense gold-medal match in June, UBC Hornets coach Martin Tremblay was shown tripping two Richmond Steel players.
The video, which was posted online, shows Tremblay shaking the goalie’s hand and then skipping the rest of the players, before sticking his foot out in front of a 13-year-old Steel player who is second-last in line.
One of the players suffered a broken wrist because of the fall and the other player was uninjured.
On Tuesday, Tremblay’s lawyer Bob Bellows delivered the guilty plea in court along with a letter of apology to the two Steel players.
“He feels horrible about it. It’s affected the two boys, it’s affected his son who plays hockey, it’s affected his livelihood,” Bellows told CTV British Columbia. “He feels a lot of shame and remorse.”
Bellows said Tremblay has asked for the players’ forgiveness.
“It’s a complete apology. He accepts total responsibility for what occurred and he wishes them well on the ice and off the ice,” Bellows said.
He added that Tremblay was going through a period of emotional and physical stress when the incident occurred.
“There were a lot of factors that went into what happened,” he said.
However Richmond Steel manager Tammy Hohlweg said the apology has comes far too late.
“Maybe if he did it within a week or couple days of it happening, then it would have been fine but I think it’s too late,” said Hohlweg.
She added that the players’ parents have been frustrated over Tremblay’s silence on the matter.
“Stress, yes that’s fine, but there’s still no excuse to do that,” she said.
Tremblay is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 31, 2013.
Bellows said he doesn’t expect his client will receive jail time.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Shannon Paterson
