Sean Hill (still) has some explaining to do

Former Islander who failed drug test reportedly to sign with Wild

Jim Baumbach

11:41 AM EDT, July 3, 2007

Finally, Sean Hill can hide no longer.

According to reports in both Minnesota newspapers this morning, the former Islander -- who will forever be remembered as the first NHL player to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs -- is about to sign with the Minnesota Wild.

That means Hill finally will have to publicly address his failed drug test, something he has conveniently avoided since the news fell on his Islanders teammates just hours before they played a postseason elimination game (which they lost).

I've made no secret of my attempts to speak to Hill, which was for no reason other than to give him the courtesy of telling everyone his side of the story. He has declined to return phone messages left at his family's home, and his agent has stopped returning my messages after giving me the run-around for a week.

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The only person associated with the league who has truly addressed the situation was Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro. After the Islanders were eliminated by the Sabres, DiPietro revealed to reporters that Hill addressed his teammates earlier that day and pronounced his innocence.

Which is fine, but why did he never do that publicly, specifically to the Islanders fans.

Hill was spotted the next day at Nassau Coliseum and he told reporters he planned to speak in the next day or two in a more formal setting. Of course we're still waiting for that day to come, more than two months after the fact.

A reporter from the Minnesota Star-Tribune reached Hill on the phone last night, and he again declined to comment about his failed test, which resulted in a 20-game suspension. According to the story, Hill "said Monday he'd address the suspension at a later time."

Hill, 37, may or may not have taken steroids, or other performance-enhancing drugs. We don't know that, and we probably will never know for certain. The decade-old story of Long Island native Jessica Foschi reminds us that there always is the possibility of other forces at play a lab error, sabotage however slim those chances are. So, in that sense, it would have been nice to hear Hill proclaim his innocence publicly.

Instead, his silence makes him appear guilty.

It's certainly a sad turn for Hill, who played an important role in the Islanders' success this season. Considered finished by many around the league, Hill rebounded, providing a gritty defensive presence. But now we are left to wonder if that was real, or fake.

No doubt Hill's failed test hurt the Islanders, as well. Now they have to be connected to the first failed test for performance-enhancers in league history. And of course they had to deal with the bad news at absolutely the worst possible time, with their season riding on a game that was just a few hours away.

The Islanders chose to only read from a statement that day, although it should be pointed out that the team's general manager, Garth Snow, did in fact go on record supporting the league's testing system in that statement. But perhaps they, too, would have liked to see Hill speak in the following days, to at least apologize for his distraction, ala Jason Giambi.

It's interesting to note that Charles Wang has proven to be someone who goes against the norm, whether it's giving a 15-year contract to a goalie, hiring a coach so many others passed on or standing by such fan outcasts as Mike Milbury and Alexei Yashin. Yet the Islanders showed absolutely no interest in bringing Hill back, which should tell you something.

Clearly the Islanders were content to let him walk.

The Star-Tribune also reported this morning that, according to their sources, the Wild were "told Hill's version of events and was comfortable enough to move forward with negotiations." So it should be interesting to see later today how they explain that "version of events," as well as to see what exactly Hill says when he does finally talk.

Sooner or later, he's going to have to.