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Former Red Wing Drops PPO Against Ex-Girlfriend

DETROIT (WWJ) –  Former Detroit Red Wing Darren McCarty and his wife agreed in Oakland Circuit Court on Wednesday to drop a personal protection order against one of his ex-girlfriends.

Attorney Jeffrey Lance Abood said his client, 37-year-old Tonya Juhl of Clawson, was never a threat to McCarty, and the judge saw that.

"It's unfortunate that athletes and their spouses believe they are entitled to special treatment even far long after they've been out of the spotlight," said Abood. "Fortunately, for us in this case, in the courtroom justice was blind and ultimately the correct decision was made."

Abood said Judge Joan Young found no merit to the claim that McCarty was afraid of Juhl.

"To be honest, I don't think he ever really was. It was his wife, Mrs. McCarty, that had some kind of issue with Darren's ex-girlfriends and former friends," Abood said.

Juhl agreed to remove any posts about the McCartys from social media.

McCarty has said Juhl harassed and threatened him in public, on the phone and online. Abood claims Juhl hasn't seen McCarty in over a year.

McCarty's wife,  Sheryl McCarty, has said that Juhl and others were trying to draw McCarty back into old bad habits of drinking and gambling.

Restraining orders against three other former McCarty friends were dropped last month.

McCarty famously helped the Wings win the Stanley Cup four times. He spent 13 seasons with the Red Wings before retiring in 2009. In his personal life, the hockey great went through rehab for alcohol addiction in the 1990s, and filed for bankruptcy in 2005.  Recently, he starred in episodes of "Hard Core Pawn," a reality TV show.

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