Gross Misconduct follows in the family

Dennis Kane:

Imagine how proud Roy Spencer must have been. Roy’s boy Brian was about to play, on national television, for the fabled Toronto Maple Leafs in his first NHL game.

Brian Spencer had been no angel growing up, not by a long shot. The boy was quick-tempered, and quicker to fight, but everyone in Fort St. James, a dark, blue-collar town in northern British Columbia, knew he was a chip off the old block. After all, old man Roy was known in those parts as a fiery, hard-living, no-nonsense type of fellow, and his family, for all intents and purposes, was a tough family in a tough town.

When Brian learned he was going to Toronto, he quickly made his own call. It was to his dad Roy back home who, by that time, was dying from kidney disease. He was playing, he told his dad, and his game was to be aired on Hockey Night in Canada from coast to coast!

Bad kidneys or not, it must have been one of the best days of Roy’s life. For a proud hockey dad, something like this just doesn’t get any better. In the end, it couldn’t have gotten any worse.

The Canadian Broadcasting Company knew nothing about Roy and Brian Spencer and the big debut in the Toronto Maple Leafs uniform, and for whatever reason decided to air the Vancouver-Oakland game instead. It was a decision that led to tragedy. Roy, once he realized what was happening, rose from his chair in front of the television, got into his car with his rifle, and drove 85 miles to the nearest television station, in Prince George.

At the station, Roy demanded they show the Leafs game, a demand that was refused, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were called. Roy found himself in a shoot-out with the police, and the proud dad, who only wanted to see his boy playing in his first NHL game, was quickly shot and killed.

Brian Spencer’s career lasted 10 years, with stops after Toronto in Long Island, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. In 1987, while living a drifter’s life in Florida, Spencer was indicted by a Florida grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping with the death penalty on the table. Former teammate, Buffalo Sabres' star left wing Richard Martin came as a character witness in Spencer's defense. Brian was acquitted for lack of evidence.

Three months later, while he was beginning to get his life back in order, he was murdered by a young hoodlum trying to rob him. His friend Greg Cook told police that they had just purchased drugs and had stopped to grab some cigarettes. They were then confronted by a robber, who Cook claims shot Spencer and ran off.

The life of Aaron Hernandez is eerily similar to that of Brian Spencer. Both were athletes whose lives spun out of control.

Kevin Armstrong, NYDailyNews:

Aaron Hernandez negotiated a narrow path to such luxurious living. Born and raised in Bristol, Conn., a two-hour commute from his current home, Hernandez excelled as a prep star at Bristol Central High, establishing several state receiving records before losing his father, Dennis at age 36, to complications from hernia surgery. The roots of Hernandez’s unraveling begin there, by most accounts, but can be traced through his time in Florida and in his first three seasons as a New England Patriot. Coaches, ranging from Geno Auriemma in AAU, to Urban Meyer in Gainesville, Fla., and now Bill Belichick, have gotten the most out of him on the basketball court and football field, but many also expressed concern about his behavior and maturity as he won a college title and played in a Super Bowl.

Bill Belichick was actually issued a subpoena and just openly defied the request to appear in court for Hernandez' double murder trial. I am confident Bill wasn't going to say anything nice so he said nothing at all. He said "enough."

Gross Misconduct - The Life of Brian 'Spinner' Spencer by Martin O' Malley, 1988. The book was made into a TV film. The sequel should be a bestseller.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy