Chelios Apologizes For U.S. Team

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 14, 1998 / 2:22 AM EST / CBS Sportsline

Chris Chelios, captain of the U.S. Hockey team, today apologized to organizers of the Nagano Games on behalf of his teammates and sent a $3,000 check to cover damage to the Olympic Village caused by a handful of unidentified American players.

In a letter to the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee, Chelios described the conduct of some of his teammates as "inexcusable."

"I want to take this opportunity to apologize to the people of Japan, the Japanese Olympic Committee, the USOC and to all hockey fans throughout the world," he wrote."Bitter frustration at our own level of play caused a few team members to vent their anger in a way which is not in the tradition of NHL/Olympic sportsmanship."

USOC officials had been considering a permanent Olympic ban for all 23 players on Team USA but on Wednesday said a sincere apology and full restitution from team members would be an acceptable solution.

Chelios has denied wrongdoing and has said he and Blackhawks teammate Gary Suter have been cleared in connection with the Olympic Village vandalism. He did not specify in his letter the source of the $3,000, saying only it is meant to"cover any expenses caused to the Japanese Olympic Committee."

Some $3,000 in damage was caused at the Olympic Village, just hours after the U.S. -- expected to contend for the gold medal -- was eliminated by the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. The damage included broken chairs and furniture, and carpeting that was soiled by releases from fire extinguishers. The NHL already made restitution to the USOC on behalf of the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee.

Chelios' letter comes one day after Blackhawks owner William W. Wirtz blasted the ongoing investigation into the vandalism, likening it to Captain Queeg's probe of stolen strawberries in the film"The Caine Mutiny."

"They were eliminated from competition, which is the worst thing that can happen to a hockey player, and in their frustration, they broke some chairs," Wirtz wrote in a letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and representatives of USA Hockey, the USOC and the NHL Players Association.

No one has taken responsibility for the incident, although members of the NHL security department interviewed every player, coach and official connected with the U.S. hockey team, some more than once.