Understand the Hockey Canada situation and how it needs to change

Hockey Canada’s mishandling of a sexual assault allegation in 2018 has led to an overhaul of the organization’s leadership and sparked discussions about how to change the culture of hockey.

Many are wondering what is the best way to restructure Hockey Canada to prevent this, or if it is even possible within the current culture. In order to consider the options, we need to make sure we understand the nuances of the situation. And to do that, we brought in investigative reporter from The Athletic, Katie Strang, who was an authoritative voice throughout the investigation, and To Hockey, With Love Co-Creators Gabriela Ugarte, who provides a unique perspective with her research on hockey culture.

Their expertise will guide us as we go through the timeline of events that led to the mass exodus of Hockey Canada leadership and assess what the future may hold.

Hockey Canada reached a settlement in May with a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by eight players, including members of the 2018 Canada World Junior Team. Hockey Canada announced in July that it would reopen the investigation and acknowledged in a statement that it “did not do enough to address the actions of some members of the 2018 junior national team or to end the culture of toxic behavior in our game.” .

Calls for change – coming from the public, Canadian politicians and sponsors (many of whom have stopped sponsoring) – grew louder in early October when it was announced that Hockey Canada was putting player registration fees into a second fund “for matters including but not including”. limited to sexual abuse,” according to documents obtained by The Globe and the Mail. Strang reported on Oct. 17 the existence of a third fund, this one for “uninsured claims.”

The day after, former interim CEO Andrea Skinner appeared before the Canadian Heritage Committee The Globe and the Mail‘s initial report and said she “fundamentally disagreed” with the report and the way it had been categorized in the media.

Skinner made several statements to the committee in defense of Hockey Canada’s leadership, calling reports “considerable misinformation and overly cynical attacks,” but offering little detail.

“Unfortunately, toxic behavior exists throughout society. No segment of society is immune,” she said. “Assuming that toxic behavior is somehow a specific hockey problem, or scapegoating hockey as the core of a toxic culture, I think is counterproductive to finding solutions.”

Strang disagrees with Skinner’s statements: “I think simply blaming it on a larger societal problem is, in my opinion, lazy, reductive, and an attempt to deflect responsibility, accountability, and blame, rather than showing a sense of accountability and introspection as to why there are certain cultural issues within the sport of ice hockey. … The first step in educating about and eradicating sexual violence is to look closely at why it is happening.

“How can anyone argue, ‘Well, your sport has abused people, why can’t it happen with us,’ added Ugarte. The real question is why is this so prevalent in organized sport?”

In the days following the new findings — and Skinner’s testimony in the third round of the Hockey Canada hearings — sponsors including Tim Hortons, Scotiabank, Telus, Canadian Tire, Imperial Oil, Skip the Dishes, Sobeys, BDO, Recipe, Nike and Bauer moved from support in different capacities.

Faced with mounting financial pressures, Skinner resigned on October 8, and Hockey Canada CEO and President Scott Smith and the board resigned on October 11.

“I certainly think corporate dollar bleeding played a big part in the mass exodus that we saw last week,” Strang said. “I think money speaks, and I think the fact that so many sponsors have not only severed ties with the organization financially, but they took a symbolic stance. They say, ‘It is unacceptable that we be associated with you any longer because the reputational damage we could suffer from that association is no longer worth our trouble.’ And I think Hockey Canada has finally realized the impact the past few months have really had.”

The NHL is conducting its own investigation into the alleged sexual assault in 2018, but there was no word of a resolution, only that the investigation is “closer to completion,” according to Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

Hockey Canada will establish an interim management committee pending a new board of directors appointing a new CEO. The board has also asked members to select a tentative list of directors pending the election of a new board. The virtual election is scheduled for December 17th.

The role of the interim management group will be to manage day-to-day operations and continue to implement Hockey Canada’s action plan.

“I’m very curious to see who is on this interim management committee,” Strang said. “I feel like Hockey Canada hasn’t really been transparent about this – I asked them. And that really makes me wonder how committed they are to actually filling the organization with people who are committed to driving change versus how committed they are to trying to salvage some level of institutional continuity.”

Getting rid of the old Hockey Canada governing body was a necessary step in changing the culture, but there is still some way to go between appointing an interim body and electing a new board. What should we look out for when new faces appear in the organization?

“I think it’s problematic that this body has traditionally consisted of older, white men for a long time,” said Strang. “Not just because you get a really homogenous sense of perspective, but because that doesn’t accurately reflect the demographics of the hockey player community in Canada.” She added, “You need someone on the board who is trained and has experience dealing with sexual violence.”

Ugarte added that for the sake of diversity, it goes deeper than diversity.

“We need to see people with different gender identities, races, sexualities, abilities, socioeconomic backgrounds and with a range of work experiences,” she said. “The board would benefit from having academics who have studied the sport, community organizers and people who have experience working with victims of violence. Having a diverse board and staff is not just the ‘politically correct’ move or whatever you want to call it. It protects an organization from creating these kinds of island cultures.”

None of this is easy to discuss, and much of it is difficult to understand. It will take hard work at all levels to change hockey culture.

“These men didn’t flip a switch and suddenly they think it’s okay to attack someone at this Hockey Canada event,” Ugarte said. “It was a result of the culture they grew up in, and most of that development is happening in junior hockey. We need to pay more attention to organizations like the CHL, which are responsible for many of these men going through critical emotional and community development.”

Loving hockey means demanding the best of it. Skinner is right that toxic behavior occurs throughout society and sexual assault and abuse needs to be addressed everywhere. But I especially love hockey and it’s clear that changes are needed.