Sheldon Kennedy

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Sheldon Kennedy (born June 15, 1969 in Brandon, Manitoba) played professional ice hockey in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently working with the Canadian Red Cross on their Respect-Ed abuse prevention programs.

Kennedy is best known for his 1996 revelation of sexual abuse by his former coach in juniors, Graham James. Kennedy spearheaded a campaign to raise awareness of sexual abuse of children in Canada, including a cross-Canada trek on inline skates which ended in controversy.

His hockey career began in 1984 when he played Major Junior hockey for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League. In 1986, he was traded to another WHL team, the Swift Current Broncos. Kennedy spent three seasons there before being selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round (80th pick) of the NHL entry draft.

After spending one year with the now defunct Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League (AHL), Kennedy made his debut with Detroit in the 1989–90 season, scoring two goals and adding seven assists in twenty games. Prior to the 1994–95 season, the Red Wings traded Kennedy to the Winnipeg Jets, but he was later picked up on waivers by the Calgary Flames. Kennedy spent two seasons in Calgary, then the Flames decided not to renew his contract in 1996, shortly after his sexual abuse revelation. He signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins for the 1996–97 season but also spent time with the Providence Bruins, Boston's AHL affiliate. The 1996–97 season was Kennedy's last campaign in the NHL but he later resurfaced in the 1998–99 season with the Manitoba Moose of the now-defunct International Hockey League. Kennedy also played for EV Landshut of the Deutsche Eishockey-Liga in Germany during the 1998–99 season.

A television movie about Kennedy's life and campaign, The Sheldon Kennedy Story, aired on CTV in 1999. Jonathan Scarfe starred as Kennedy.

In 2006 Kennedy released his autobiography, Why I Didn't Say Anything - The Sheldon Kennedy Story. In the book he revealed that nightmares of James still continue to plague him. He also wrote frankly about his battles with cocaine addiction.^[1]