Darkness descends on Hockey Canada

Opinion

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This article was published 28/07/2022 (784 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CANADIANS may never again pull on their Hockey Canada jerseys and wear them with pride.

Four years ago, an alleged incident involving a young woman and eight young hockey players — some reportedly members of Canada’s national junior team — resulted in a complaint being filed with Hockey Canada (HC). The allegations, if proven, are beyond reprehensible.

After a HC investigation, we still don’t know what the facts are. Shockingly, it appears that HC doesn’t, either.

What we do know is that the HC investigation was inadequate. Whether it was due to incompetence or a dismissive attitude to such complaints isn’t clear. But it raises serious questions about HC and its leadership.

HC “strongly encouraged” players to participate in the investigation. An organization committed to addressing serious allegations would make participation mandatory and would impose significant sanctions on any player who refused.

At best, HC took a passive approach to determining what happened. At worst, perhaps HC preferred not to know.

Without having determined what happened, HC then attempted to buy its way out of the problem using monies from a euphemistically titled “national equity fund.” This action shows cynicism toward complainants. Rather than focusing on justice, it focused on money.

HC apparently has a newly discovered commitment to transparency and accountability. But this seems to be simply damage control, as many questions remain unanswered.

Why would HC settle a serious complaint without knowing what happened and who was responsible? And what measures has HC taken to prevent such issues occurring in the future?​

Does the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) the complainant was required to sign restrict the complainant’s ability to pursue civil action against the players? If so, why would HC provide any protection for players who did not co-operate with an investigation?

It appears there was an investigation that showed a lack of due diligence and that quickly pivoted to using money to avoid a public-relations problem.

It is unacceptable that athletes, entertainers and politicians can buy their way out of sexual misconduct complaints. It is worse if organizations such as HC do so on their behalf.

To be fair, however, HC isn’t alone. As a society, we have not done enough to educate people about the reality of sexual abuse. For too long we have ignored the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse that accompany sexual abuse: denial, minimization, rationalization and blaming/shaming.

As sentient human beings, sexual abuse is anathema to us. We turn a blind eye to it and refuse to believe anything that creates anxiety and cognitive dissonance for us. We minimize sexual abuse, as exemplified by the comments of the players’ spokespersons: “It was consensual.” “No charges were laid.” While charges have not yet been laid, that by itself does not mean that the incident was consensual.

And there are those people who blame and shame victims by referring to them as “gold diggers” and individuals who “should have known better.”

But sexual abuse is not about money. It is about humiliation, hurt and degradation. As the complainant said in a text to one of the players: “I just felt I was being made fun of and taken advantage of.”

The question that arises is how could some of Canada’s top junior hockey players find themselves embroiled in such a controversy? Has our society given and given to our young athletes, such that we have created a culture of entitlement for them? Have we somehow enabled them to avoid learning the life lessons of humility and consideration for others?

A player allegedly involved, in a text to the complainant, reported said, “Can you please figure out how to make this go away?” Unfortunately, there is no magic wand here.

But we can all choose to do the right thing: we can work together to create a hockey culture that truly embraces respect for others and emphasizes integrity and responsibility on and off the ice.

Mac Horsburgh is a former Employment and Family Assistance Program counsellor and Bob Pruden is a human resources practitioner.