Ottawa Senators say CEO’S firing tied to ex-wife’s allegations
Little maintains it was dust-up with Melnyk
The surprise firing of Ottawa Senators chief executive officer Jim Little followed an investigation by the NHL franchise that uncovered several allegations of harsh or abusive behaviour, including public claims of domestic abuse from his former wife, the team said.
Little, through his lawyer, disputed this.
Little’s dismissal on Wednesday came less than two months after he was hired and as he was cementing his role as the public face of the struggling hockey team.
In a statement Wednesday about his dismissal, Little, 55, said he was fired because of his intemperate language in a heated discussion with team owner Eugene Melnyk on Feb. 14.
While Little contends he was essentially fired for angrily swearing at Melynk — which generated frustrated amusement among many Senators fans who often blame Melnyk for the team’s rocky performance — the Senators said it was not such a shallow decision.
After the argument and during an investigation into Little’s behaviour, the team discovered that Little’s former spouse published online accounts alleging abusive behaviour during her marriage, the National Post has learned.
“While there were signs of insecurity and controlling tendencies early in our relationship, I told myself the good far outweighed the bad,” Lara Smith wrote in an article published Aug. 28, 2019.
“As the weeks and months unfolded, I was the victim of extreme control, psychological and at times, physical abuse. Going to yoga class and the grocery store were cause for outbursts of rage,” reads part of an article written to encourage and support other women who are facing difficult relationships.
“To the world, he was a charming, successful, accomplished business tycoon with a celebrated career and a network of the most impressive friends. Privately he had a very dark side that became my daily nightmare once we began living together,” it says.
The article was published a second time on her own website shortly before Little was publicly named as the new CEO of the Senators. Smith’s allegations have not been proven.
A team spokesman said there was a direct link between the Valentine’s Day argument with Melnyk, an investigation into Little it sparked, Smith’s allegations and his dismissal.
“The Ottawa Senators can confirm knowledge of the blog post, which was discovered following Mr. Little’s Feb. 14 outburst and as a result of an ensuing investigation into his behaviour, leading up to his dismissal. It was one of the issues that gave the organization grave concern,” said Dan Gagnier, spokesman for the Ottawa Senators, in a statement to the National Post when asked about Smith’s articles.
“The pattern of behaviour by Mr. Little within the organization, which violated the team’s code of conduct and the policies of the NHL, coupled with the detailed allegations contained within an online posting discovered subsequently, was extremely concerning given his conduct within the company’s head office,” Gagnier said.
Little, through legal counsel, denied that.
“The suggestion that the Senators terminated Mr. Little’s employment because of the allegations you describe ... is untrue,” said Toronto lawyer Matthew Sammon on Little’s behalf, when Little was asked by the Post of the allegations by his former wife and by the Senators.
Sammon said Little stood by his version of why he was fired, suggesting he will sue the team, saying: “Given the circumstances of our client’s dismissal, these matters will now be addressed through the courts.”
Little’s lawyer also said the allegations published by his former wife “are not attributed to any specific source” and “are defamatory,” Sammon said in a written response to the Post’s questions.
“They appear to have been advanced as part of an effort to deliberately injure Mr. Little’s reputation,” he said. He encouraged the Post not to report on them.
“Given that litigation is imminent, Mr. Little will not be making further public statements regarding these matters at this time,” Sammon said.
The Senators remained similarly steadfast: “The Senators stand by the dismissal and will vigorously defend its circumstances in court, as needed,” Gagnier said.
Smith declined to discuss the contents of her articles or her marriage to Little when contacted by the Post.
A successful entrepreneur, Smith does not name Little in her various published accounts and in a video on Youtube. She does reference the specific timing of her relationship, however, and it coincides with her marriage to Little.
She describes leaving the relationship and the couple’s home in a “brave moment.”
Smith and Little were married in Calgary on July 4, 2015, and were no longer living together by Oct. 1, 2017, according to divorce records filed in court.
Both had been previously married and divorced.
Little filed for a divorce on May 25, 2018. It was uncontested by Smith and it was granted Nov. 29, 2018. No allegations against either party are documented in the divorce filing and neither claimed spousal support from the other.
Little left his job at Shaw Communications, a Calgary- based telecommunications company, where he was executive vice-president and chief marketing and culture officer, the same month as the divorce filing in May 2018.
After Little and Melnyk’s argument, the Senators warned Little he was under investigation, according to a letter he was given by the Senators’ board of directors, dated Feb. 18, two weeks before he was fired.
The letter, read by the Post, says it was hand delivered to Little after a meeting of the Senators’ board that same day, at which Little was called in to discuss “a very serious incident” — namely the profanity- laden argument. “On the morning of Feb. 14, 2020, you had a telephone discussion with Mr. Eugene Melnyk (“Mr. Melnyk”) which you yourself have since described as ‘ very heated and acrimonious,’ ” the letter says.
“We have been advised by Mr. Melnyk that, during the telephone call in question you raised your voice to the point of yelling at Mr. Melnyk for much of the call, made numerous comments of a very insulting and derogatory nature and repeatedly used profanity throughout the call.”
Little was warned that the Senators, referred to by its ownership company, Capital Sports & Entertainment Inc., “is currently in the process of further investigating this very serious matter.”
The letter says the behaviour, as described, would be in breach of company policy, “including but not limited to, the Company’s Code of Conduct, and appear to be an act of insubordination.”
While the investigation was underway, the letter reminded him of his “non- disparagement provision” in his executive employment agreement.
The Senators’ letter says the argument triggered the investigation.
PRIVATELY HE HAD A VERY DARK SIDE.