Page 176 of Dear #47, You're the Worst
It’s a video of Hunter from several years ago. He’s wearing a purple and gold U of W jersey, so it was probably senior year of college. Hunter and two other players, both dressed in red and white jerseys, are scuffling. The guy goes down with Hunter on top of him, swinging. From this angle, it looks like Hux is a giant and he’s beating up on some scrawny kid from high school.
I watch, tense. The third guy yells something inaudible. Hunter leans into the guy on the ground, the thwacks getting louder. I see a fight on the ice that went too far, where he completely lost control. It’s brutal, raw, hard to watch. He looks like a completely different person.
Wild. Dangerous. He’s the kind of angry thatscarespeople.
“Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit.” I scroll down.
The comments are outright hostile. People calling him violent, unstable, a ticking time bomb. Some are tagging the team directly. Others are saying this is who he’s always been, that the past few months have all been an act.
I feel sick. Not because I believe any of it, but because I know how hard Hunter has worked to curb his impulses. I know how scared he is of being seen this way again. I know exactly what this will do to him.
What should I do? How can I protect him when this is already out there? My heart is in my throat. I have to figure out how to spin this.
My phone rings. It’s Coach Cross.
“Hello?” I answer, already wincing.
“Juliet. Have you seen the video?”
“Just now. How… how bad is it going to be for him?”
There’s a second’s pause. “It could be bad. The video accumulated half a million views in the three hours since its upload. Havoc needs to come up with a response. I’m calling you personally to make sure you know how much Hunter needs this to just go away. He’s already skating on thin ice with the league.”
“The video is damning, sure. But it’s old. Surely the NHL can’t penalize him for it.”
Coach sighs. “Maybe not. But if we don’t make this story vanish, and fast, it’s going to be at the top of the pile the next time he gets so much as a time out. A minor infraction will bench him. Major infractions will get him kicked out of the league altogether. The NHL can’t mess around with guys who think are genuinely violent.”
That makes sense. Last year, a crazed hockey defender in New York essentially terrorized his girlfriend, and the police arrested him. The NHL got shamed when a whole documentary came out about its attempts to downplay some incidents in the guy’s past. They don’t want to get burned again.
“I understand. I’m on my way in.”
“Actually, can you work from home today? I don’t want you walking into a media circus if they’re camped outside the arena. The press knows that you’re Hunter’s fiancée.”
“Right.” I frown. “Yeah, of course. I’ll get a statement together.”
If I’m going to do this right, I need an awesome cup of coffee. I grab my laptop and head downstairs to The Secret History. The doors are open and the lights are on, but I’m the only customer here so early.
Étienne looks up from polishing a wine glass behind the bar. “Hi. We’re not open yet.”
I give him a small smile. “What if I just want a cup of coffee while I work? I won’t bother you. I just need to be… not at home.”
His eyebrows rise, but he just nods and waves to the bar.
“Take your pick. Do you want a latte or an Americano?” He waves at the small espresso machine.
“Oh, latte, please.” I slide into a seat. “Oat milk if you’ve got it.”
He gives me a cool smile. “You got it.”
I spend the next half hour crafting a statement. Not a defensive denial or an excuse. Something that acknowledges the truth while highlighting Hunter’s growth.
“Hunter Huxley has been transparent about his past struggles with anger management. What you see in this old footage is not who he is today. Over the past season, he has consistently showed his commitment to personal growth and team leadership. We support players who take responsibility for their actions and work to improve themselves. Change takes time. We’re proud of the progress Hunter has made.”
It’s calm, careful, defending him publicly without asking permission first. He doesn’t need saving. Hedeservessomeone in his corner.
Then I reach out to the friendliest reporters, the ones who’ve always treated me with some respect. I give them the statement and I seed it with little reminders of Hunter’s charity appearances, his time with kids at the charity tournament, his donation to the SPCA.
I can’t erase the video, but I can bury it under a mountain of evidence that he’s more than one violent clip.
