Thirteenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Janet Jones (Gretzky) was vilified in the Canadian press for her perceived, not actual, role in the blockbuster hockey trade that involved her husband, Wayne Gretzky. Unfairly and without proof, Jones was cast as a manipulative American seductress that duped the righteous, but too trusting, Canadian hockey star into a bad decision that negatively affected his country. The media granted Jones absolution after a hasty indictment but the amnesty proved temporary. Twice more Jones found her reputation sullied by the Canadian media as it attempted to validate its initial verdict. This investigation of Canadian media illuminates important truths about its willingness to engage in gender-based chauvinism, particularly in sports sections, and the media’s reluctance to move beyond those narratives even as time passed and truths were revealed. This analysis considers the reactions of local and national media and is guided by recent research into press coverage of WAGs.