Herostratus, the ancient Greek arsonist who sought infamy by burning down the Temple of Artemis, has become a metonym for one who commits a crime in pursuit of fame.
If the National Hockey League decides not to send its players to the 2014 Sochi Games, then commissioner Gary Bettman could also become synonymous with the executed firestarter, according to Kontinental Hockey League president Alexander Medvedev.
Not one to sugarcoat his words, Medvedev compared Bettman to the man who destroyed one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World in an R-Sport story Tuesday.
“If there’s a negative decision? I think that if Bettman wants the fame of Herostratus then it’s possible, of course, to get it,” Medvedev told the Russian news outlet. “It’s possible to enter history as a negative hero, but I think that the NHL will, in any case, take the decision to go to the Olympics.”
Medvedev, who spoke out against what he saw as the NHL’s arrogance during the lockout, said he had previously pitched the North American league on permitting its players to compete in more international tournaments. His comments Tuesday coincide with a trip to Sochi by Bill Daly, the NHL’s vice president, and officials from the International Ice Hockey Federation.
“What we’re offering could be completely put into practice, and that’s four competitions in each cycle — the Olympics, two world championships and the World Cup of Hockey,” Medvedev said. The World Cup of Hockey has not been played since 2004, and only NHLers whose teams have been eliminated from the postseason opt to play in the IIHF world championships. “It’s possible without breaking the calendar, without canceling NHL matches.”
The new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and it Players’ Association has yet to address the players’ participation at Sochi 2014, although Washington star Alex Ovechkin already has Capitals owner Ted Leonsis’ blessing to attend.
Since NHLers began participating in the Winter Olympics in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, the league has suspended its schedule midseason – and cancelled the revenue-generating All-star Game – to accommodate the international competition.
Talks between the NHL, the NHLPA and the IIHF regarding the professional players competing in Sochi are ongoing.
