While most of the time I do believe the sports life and private life are on different levels but this was no fairy tale picnic. If ANY of the current NHL players were accused of HALF these facts, they'd not be playing in the NHL or EVER put on any type of "higher level" for any of their deeds.
"Hull's life away from the ice did not always have the same high that his playing gave him. His first marriage ended while he was still a teenager. His second marriage -- to figure skater Joanne McKay, whom he wed in 1960 -- was filled with charges of mental and physical abuse. In an incident in Hawaii in 1966, Joanne said her husband held her over the balcony after hitting her in the head with her shoe.
After several more abusive incidents, she filed for divorce in 1970. However, she agreed to a reconciliation. In 1978, Hull threatened her with a loaded shotgun. Two years later they were divorced, a development which estranged Hull from his five children for several years.
He married his third wife, Deborah, in 1984. Two years later, Hull, who appeared to have been drinking, was charged with assault and battery against her although she later dropped the complaint. However, Hull pleaded guilty to taking a swing at one of the arresting officers. He was fined $150 and placed on six months court supervision.
In August 1998, Hull was vilified after telling a reporter for the Moscow Times that the black population in America was growing too fast and that "Hitler had some good ideas. He just went a bit too far." When asked if it would be fair to label him a racist, Hull said, "I don't give a damn. I'm not running for any political office." "
