It's been a few months since former Montreal Canadiens player Claude Lemieux took his own life. Speaking in his first interview since the tragedy, his brother Jocelyn explained why he has stopped trying to understand.
On Friday, former Montreal Canadiens winger Jocelyn Lemieux spoke to Mario Langlois on Les amateurs de sports and discussed the tragic death of his brother, Claude Lemieux. It was the first interview Jocelyn gave since his brother took his own life, days after being the torchbearer for Game 3 of the Canadiens’ series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Langlois invited Lemieux on his show after Lemieux announced on social media that his contract with RDS had not been renewed after 15 years as the analyst for Ottawa Senators games. The interview covered several topics, including his older brother’s passing, which he believes helped him cope with the shock of losing his role at RDS.
Visibly emotional, Jocelyn explained that in the note he left behind for him, Claude showed a vulnerability his younger brother had never known about and that he would have liked to know about. The interview also revealed that Claude had left personal notes to his close ones; Lemieux said he had left notes to “Everybody”. As sad as his passing was, knowing that “Pepe” took the time to write several notes to those near and dear to him at least makes it clear he thought things through before ending his life.
Jocelyn explained that losing his brother was a shock, especially after he had been involved in the pregame at the Bell Centre and they had spent the following day together. He recalls that everything seemed fine; he was funny, and he was relaxed, which is why it came as such a shock that he chose to take his own life a couple of nights later. He confesses that he has stopped trying to understand, because he feels they must accept that they’ll never understand everything.
Both brothers played a rugged style and suffered numerous concussions. Over the years, many enforcers have made the decision to take their own lives, and Langlois asked his guest if he was afraid of what he could do to himself, and he replied he wasn’t anymore, but he feels like what he was afraid of in himself is what ultimately took his brother away from him.
The interview is in French, and if you're fluent, it’s well worth listening to; you can find it on 98.5 FM’s website. While some lament the fact that enforcers are slowly being phased out of the game, given what we now know about brain trauma and injuries, it truly is for the best, and if that’s a topic of interest to you, I strongly recommend reading the late great Ken Dryden’s book, Game Change.
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