Former junior hockey player says pedophile was his Winnipeg billet in 1980s

A young hockey player Graham James recruited to play for the Winnipeg Warriors in the 1980s was placed in the home of a convicted sex offender as his billet.

“I think it is shocking that the team would billet me with a convicted pedophile, chosen by another pedophile and that the team did not believe me when I complained,” the unnamed player said in an affidavit filed last week in Ontario Superior Court.

The affidavit is part of a lawsuit former junior hockey players have filed against the Canadian Hockey League. The lawsuit alleges underaged players were repeatedly subjected to sexual, physical and mental abuse for decades through a toxic environment of hazing and harassment created by the league, its teams and their executives. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Although not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, James was head scout and assistant coach of the 1983-84 Winnipeg Warriors. The team was relocated to Moose Jaw the following season, with James taking over as head coach. It would be more than a decade later before he was convicted of sexually assaulting Sheldon Kennedy and another unnamed player.

Former player launches official complaint with police

Former junior hockey player Jay Macaulay has launched an official complaint with the Winnipeg Police Service alleging he was sexually abused by disgraced ex-Western Hockey League coach and convicted predator Graham James.

Macaulay, 49, says during stints with the Swift Current Broncos between 1988 and 1990, he was subjected to abusive behaviour by James, including inappropriate touching, oral sex and, on one occasion, anal rape.

He spoke with police just days after his story came to light in the Free Press. Over a period of months in 2019 and throughout 2020, he sat down with the Free Press every two weeks, at times chatting for hours.

With his secret out, and backed by the support of family and friends, Macaulay filed a complaint to the authorities. City police haven’t made a statement about the onset of a formal investigation, although the accusation was only lodged Monday afternoon.

A stain on our game: About this project

Disgraced junior hockey coach Graham James has been convicted of sexually assaulting five former players. However, police estimate the true number of victims is between 25 and 100.

In this series, Free Press sports writer Jeff Hamilton investigates James' past -- from his formative years growing up to his time as a substitute teacher, and from his first foray into coaching minor hockey to his ultimate downfall.

Hamilton gives voice to James' victims and talks to dozens of former players, childhood friends, colleagues and officials, asking questions of those who knew -- or ought to have known -- what was happening on their watch.