Couple Backtracks on Claim NHL Owner Had Sex With Teen

A couple who claimed in court papers that the billionaire owner of the Edmonton Oilers paid a teenage ballet dancer tens of thousands of dollars for sex now say they were wrong. Both the NHL owner, Daryl Katz, and the teen, Sage Humphries, had denied the claim and said their relationship was not sexual. Katz provided documentation that she was 18 at the time he paid her $75,000 for legitimate business reasons. On Aug. 3, the couple, dance teacher Mitchell Taylor Button and his wife, Dusty Button, withdrew the allegation. Their lawyer, in a statement distributed by Katz’s camp, said they made the accusation in good faith but later were shown “credible evidence that key allegations were not true.” The lawyer added: “I want to personally apologize for any harm the erroneous factual claims may have caused to Mr. Katz and his family.” The allegation was made as part of a legal dispute between the Buttons and Humphries, who has filed a sexual-abuse lawsuit against the couple.