Raleigh Brought Up Carter Hart’s S*xual Assault Allegations With “A No is A No” Chants During Game 1

The Vegas Golden Knights signed Carter Hart to a two year, four million dollar contract in October after the court acquitted him of charges.

Raleigh Brought Up Carter Hart’s S*xual Assault Allegations With “A No is A No” Chants During Game 1

Carter Hart (Image via Getty Images)

The Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup series got off to a controversial start in Raleigh yesterday. The Hurricanes fans huddled in the Lenovo Center in the North Carolina capital city were having none of the Vegas goaltender, Carter Hart, being in their rink.

The Lenovo Center crowd had boos ready for every Vegas player as they were introduced; however, it was a bit louder for Carter Hart. Amid the game, the Canes fans also started chanting, “A No is A No,” referring to Hart’s role in the 2018 Hockey Canada scandal.

Hart, along with four of his Hockey Canada teammates, was accused of s*xually assaulting a woman who goes by E.M. in a local hotel room following Team Canada’s 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship win. The complainant testified that while she had consented to a one-on-one encounter with Michael McLeod, she was blindsided when he invited his teammates into the room.

The prosecution argued that the players entered the room in the early hours of the morning and engaged in s*xual acts without obtaining clear, ongoing consent from the woman, who testified that she felt intimidated and unable to safely object. In the Vegas Carolina game, several people were reported to be wearing shirts and signs showing allegiance to E.M.

Hart and the others were found not guilty of the convictions last October. He joined the Vegas Golden Knights following the end of the ban imposed on him by the authorities for his involvement in the scandal. Though he has quickly risen in ranks as one of the leading goaltenders of the league, the legal result hasn’t translated into a moral conclusion among the fans.

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Carter Hart acquitted but not exonerated

In the wake of his addition to the NHL, Carter Hart spoke of the incident once. He confessed that he has grown up since the event in 2018, the charges in 2022, and the consequences levied afterward. Nonetheless, Hart hasn’t taken any accountability for his part, and this has prevented fans from exonerating him even though the court has acquitted him.

The goalie testified that he entered the room under the impression that the encounter was fully consensual based on a text invitation from McLeod. While the initial allegations included intercourse, Hart testified in court that he did not have intercourse with the woman, stating he refrained because the multi-person situation felt “weird,” though he admitted to engaging in a brief s*xual act.

The defense argued that video clips recorded during the night and the woman’s outward behavior led the players to believe she was a willing participant, leading to an acquittal of the five men. However, there’s a strong opinion that the weight of the message, “I was fine going home with you… but it was everyone else after that I wasn’t expecting. I just felt like I was being made fun of and taken advantage of,” sent by E.M., wasn’t taken into account.

Vegas Golden Knights making Carter Hart less available for press conferences won’t help his case

The Vegas Golden Knights have made Carter Hart a rare presence in their press rooms. Even in a case where he was brought before the reporters, they made a conscious decision to pull him before further questions about the scandal and judicial verdict were asked.

Carter Hart (Image via US Weekly)
Carter Hart (Image via US Weekly)

During the final media day before the Stanley Cup, Sean Gentile of The Athletic questioned Hart about his personal development. Pointing back to Hart’s October comments about having grown significantly since the incident, the reporter asked whether he had continued that process of learning and growth.

Hart kept it short and very crisp without delving into much detail.

I’ve learned a lot. I’ve grown a lot since then. And I’ve been able to meet a lot of good people in the community, and I think the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation has done a really good job of making it easy for me to integrate into the community and meet a lot of cool people, and, just really fortunate to be here in Vegas.

The outlet reported that a Golden Knights staff member promptly ended Hart’s media availability following the question, blocking any further discussion.

The Carolina Hurricanes are one down in the series after a 4-5 comeback win granted the Vegas the first game in Raleigh.

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