Former UM Hockey Player Jack Johnson Forced into Bankruptcy by Parents
Deadspin just ran an article stating that the recently filed bankruptcy of former UM hockey standout Jack Johnson was caused by his parents robbing him. Wild story.
Link: http://deadspin.com/how-jack-johnsons-parents-screwed-him-and-left-him-mill-1663583325
January 14th, 2015 at 2:25 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 2:45 PM ^
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January 14th, 2015 at 2:49 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
agreed to an extent. This is the second worst thing I have heard of a parent doing to a child, behind that scene from Precious.
January 14th, 2015 at 3:27 PM ^
If this is the worst you've heard of a parent doing to their kid, you must live in the Shire.
January 14th, 2015 at 4:00 PM ^
At a children's hospital one day.
January 14th, 2015 at 3:01 PM ^
It's one thing to lose the house or car your lottery ticket child gave you, but to actually erase his entire net worth is a special kind of evil. It's one thing to screw up your own life, but you have to do right by your own children at very least. Nice or not, this is a terrible person. They didn't do this by accident, the dad was buying Ferraris for god sake...
I have no idea how you can even begin to defend him.
But hey he's nice!
January 14th, 2015 at 3:12 PM ^
Sure: let's "curb the moralizing." Parents have the right to steal more than $10 million from their children and blow it on an extravagant lifestyle. They have the right to leave their children in debt for the "crime" of trusting them.
Yeah: let's "curb the moralizing."
January 14th, 2015 at 3:17 PM ^
A series of thoroughly intentional terrible decisions that they knew were draining Jack's finances. It's not like choosing the veal when the chicken is the better option.
The fact that they were nice people doesn't change the ethical nature of their actions; it just made it easier for them to pull it off for as long as they did. The most successful scammers and grifters have the ability to get people on their side.
January 14th, 2015 at 3:48 PM ^
Seriously curb the moralizing! It is one thing to make bad decisions on your child's behalf, but another thing to be engaged in theft, lies, deception, fraud and embezzlement. If they were not capable of handling his finances, then why did they fire all the others who could? No way to rationalize this, I would LOVE to hear the parents side of the story, would make for great theater and comedy. I can not imagine a puishment that is worthy of these people.
January 14th, 2015 at 4:10 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 4:56 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 5:36 PM ^
I almost always agree with you, but I've gotta disagree on this one. I don't care how "nice" the Johnsons have been when you were around them. Any people who f*** their own child over like this are Grade A assholes. This isn't like they stole a little bit of his money or something (which would still be terrible). They basically stole his future away from him. What they did was utterly reprehensible and pretty much unforgivable.
There are almost no people in this world that you can fully trust. Your parents should be people you can fully trust. For his parents to rip him off like this is just sickening.
January 14th, 2015 at 11:37 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
Judge the behavior, not the person. It'd be a dour mistake to spend life thinking everyone is precisely what you see and no more. Especially given that, each time you make a mistake or fail, you are sooner to appeal to circumstances ("if only...then I wouldn't have...") than flatly call yourself a lifetime failure.
/Fundamental attribution error'd
Having said that: Yes, they are people with recently deplorable BEHAVIOR as it relates to their son and his money.
January 14th, 2015 at 3:15 PM ^
After reading the article I'm very happy to judge those two a-holes. They ruined their son's life and even tried to delay his marriage so he wouldn't find out what they were doing with his finances.
January 14th, 2015 at 4:04 PM ^
of his parents should be in prison. Hopefully the bankruptcy filing will lead to a DOJ audit and investigation. If they were trying to take out loans, knowing he was insolvent, the court would frown on that.
If I was him I'd call the FBI myself. Shitbag parents.
January 14th, 2015 at 4:29 PM ^
I totally understand that. It's so common as to be the convention.
But your happiness has nothing to do with the standards and thresholds of logical coherency. Judging people on the basis of their behaviors may feel good and many times it may even pay off in terms of predicting the future. But that doesn't change the truth that it is a strictly incoherent way of reaching conclusions.
January 14th, 2015 at 2:26 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 2:26 PM ^
Gotta be smart with those power of attorneys for sure
January 14th, 2015 at 2:28 PM ^
But one would hope that one's own parents wouldn't bankrupt one's ass behind one's own back.
January 14th, 2015 at 2:37 PM ^
When it comes to large amounts of money (hell, even small amounts of money), people do bad things to even their own family. I've seen it happen to mine and my wife's.
January 14th, 2015 at 2:40 PM ^
Walter and Skylar White, yo.
January 14th, 2015 at 5:40 PM ^
delete.
January 14th, 2015 at 2:26 PM ^
Gotta be smart with those power of attorneys for sure
January 14th, 2015 at 5:40 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 2:30 PM ^
Money brings out peoples true colors. Sad sad stroy.
January 14th, 2015 at 2:30 PM ^
but I have no doubt that a major factor in so many collegiate athletes leaving college early for the pros is that they're surrounded by vultures and parasites who can't wait to spend the money they think they have a right to.
Closer to home, every time Red loses another highly-touted recruit to the OHL and the kid says "It's always been my dream to play in the National Hockey League" what that translates into is "It's always been my parents' dream to spend the money they think I'm going to make in the NHL."
January 14th, 2015 at 2:50 PM ^
who would neg your post, because it is spot on.
And the parents are the parasites much more often than you would think.
EDIT: Apparently Jack's dad has an MGoBlog account.
January 14th, 2015 at 3:09 PM ^
I'm one of the very few who's cynical about how so many elite UM hockey recruits have used Red and the Michigan program over the past 15 years or so, and it's not a popular opinion. I really do believe that most of these kids—as well as kids at other programs in other sports—are responding to their parents' desires as much or more than their own.
January 14th, 2015 at 7:14 PM ^
They've only dedicated their entire lives to a highly-competitive endeavor. Why would they possibly want to do so at the highest level possible?
January 14th, 2015 at 2:42 PM ^
Had a hard time reading. Those people are pretty sick.
January 14th, 2015 at 2:48 PM ^
That my son's app development business is going to fund my retirement, I'm joking. I wouldn't imagine doing something like Jack Johnson's parents did to him.
I mean, 15-20% off the top is the most I'd skim.... You know, to cover power of attorneys fees.
January 14th, 2015 at 3:11 PM ^
15-20% seems generous for a finders fee (you did "find" him, afterall). I pledge not to steal my son's money... until after he is set for life.
January 14th, 2015 at 3:18 PM ^
Wow, OP. This happened a while ago and was discussed.
January 14th, 2015 at 5:28 PM ^
Finally, someone adding substance to the discussion.
January 14th, 2015 at 4:08 PM ^
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this article adds to 'how they did it,' and the 'it was definitely deliberate' narrative that was previously incomplete.
January 15th, 2015 at 12:06 AM ^
That's why I posted this. I was under the impression that the majority of the previous discussion was wild conjecture and hoped that this would add some helpful substance to the conversation.
January 14th, 2015 at 6:45 PM ^
I don't know why - maybe it is seasonal affective disorder hitting but reading this just makes me really sad. I don't really follow hockey closely but do know that a lot of kids basically play semi-pro like hockey in Canada but I guess I had a polly annish view of college hockey. I hope that the kid has enough time to build back up some money for his later post-hockey life and that it doesn't make him too bitter about life.
Maybe I've become enured to seeing how entourages of so-called "pals" will rip off and leech off a sports star who hit it big especially if he came from a poor background, but somehow this is just depressing - maybe because the bond between the parent and child is suppose to be something different than just friends - even close ones. Many parents scrimp and save and sacrifice for their kids and seeing them do well and happy is all they want in return.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised because there have been long stories of stage parents ripping off kid actors (I think there is a law named after the guy who played uncle Fester on the old B&W TV show, The Addams Family - hard to believe when you see him as Fester but as a kid evidently he was very photogenic and made a lot of money which his parents ripped off. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Child_Actor%27s_Bill)
I guess I got to get one of those natural sunlight lamps now.
January 14th, 2015 at 6:57 PM ^
New of the bankruptcy, but not of how it actually occurred. This was hard to read, I just cannot fathom how a parent could do this to their child. I hope they get what they deserve.