Mike Danton Speaks Publicly

St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton read a prepared statement over the phone Friday night from Clinton County Jail in Carlyle, Illinois. Danton is charged with murder-for-hire of his agent, David Frost. Mike Danton, known as Mike Jefferson until 2002, blasted the Jefferson family for physical and emotional abuses while he grew up and staunchly defended his agent. The following are portions of his read statement:

"First of all, I'd like to thank my agent, Dave Frost, and his family for all their time and support. Also, my close friends for their co-operation and involvement. I would also like to express my appreciation to the St. Louis Blues organization and players for their caring and support...With regards to the Jeffersons, their recent publicity rants are nothing new to myself. The deceptions and lies throughout the past three weeks are a sign of the erratic lifestyle that I have lived. I have changed my last name to fully distance myself from the Jeffersons and, in no means, have had or will have anything to do with them in the future. This abuse occurred as early as I can remember and also continued until the time I left the household. I was constantly degraded and put down at early ages...As mentioned before, I was neglected many daily necessities, as well as the abandonment of love, care and direction...One pair of track pants and two t-shirts created an abundance of embarrassment for a young boy going to school such as myself, coupled with the fact that I wasn't given lunch to eat or money to buy lunch. Dinner was rare and, on many occasions, I would visit friends' houses in search of food and washroom use, due to the fact that there was no toilet paper at the Jefferson house. I wanted to share this small amount of information with you to set the record straight and show that there are two sides to the story. Also, that I have had no interest and will have no interest in the future to have any contact whatsoever with the Jeffersons."

Understandably, the Jefferson family was shaken by the allegations. Steve Jefferson, Danton's father, responded:

"I'm really hurt by it. His mother will be floored. That's Dave Frost talking. You'd think that his brother and his mother would remember these things and they don't at all. It hurts the family to hear that type of nonsense from him, but it just shows how badly Mike needs help."

His father also believes that the public statement was simply David Frost manipulating his son:

"It does not hurt what Mike said because Mike did not say it," Jefferson said. "What really hurts is that Mike is not saying the right things. He is not saying the truth. If he really thinks Dave Frost is going to save him in all this, he is going to end up doing a lot of time in jail."

The story is even stranger in that Danton told his agent David Frost that he was going to speak publicly, but failed to inform his attorney, Robert Haar. On Tueday, Mike Danton pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired to kill an acquaintance in a murder-for-hire plot. Present at the hearing were three of his relatives (mother Sue Jefferson, brother Tom Jefferson, and aunt Linda Gebe) as well as two of his teammates (Scott Mellanby and Doug Weight). Danton's trial begins July 20. Sources: Buffalo News Canada.com CTV.ca GlobeAndMail.com St Louis Post-Dispatch WHC Update: With the help of Nicklas Lidstrom and Peter Forseberg, Sweden beat the United States 3-2 in the World Hockey Championships semifinals round. Earlier Saturday, Canada beat Slovakia 2-1. The United States fell short of creating the first all-North American final in 54 years. On Sunday, the US will face Slovakia in the bronze-medal game (10 am), and Canada will face Sweden in the gold-medal match (2 pm).