NHL saying 'hold on' to Hockey Canada five is a good message, but still lacking

National Post

21 hours ago

Let's begin by giving the NHL some credit: they made clear this week that just because a court says you're not guilty of something, that doesn't mean you are suddenly in the 'good' column again.
Article content
'The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behaviour at issue was unacceptable,' the NHL said Thursday about the Hockey Canada five being found not guilty of sexual assault. 'We will be reviewing and considering the judge's findings. While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the league.'
Article content
Article content
Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Cal Foote, Michael McLeod and Dillon Dube are still on the hot seat as far as the NHL is concerned. There's an expectation of good conduct here, the NHL is reminding everyone.
Article content
And they're right on that.
Article content
The NHL's standard player contract has a clause declaring players must conduct themselves on and off the ice 'according to the highest standards of honesty, morality, fair play and sportsmanship, and to refrain from conduct detrimental to the best interest of the Club, the League, or professional hockey generally.'
Article content
In other words, do what you want on your own time, but if your dirty laundry gets out, we're going to have to talk about it.
Article content
That, presumably, is the crux of the NHLPA's challenge to the league's eligibility position.
Article content
'After missing more than a full season of their respective NHL careers, they should now have the opportunity to return to work. The NHL's declaration that the players are 'ineligible' to play pending its further analysis of the court's findings is inconsistent with the discipline procedures set forth in the CBA,' the PA insists. The PA's job is to protect their members' working conditions.
Article content
Article content
But in the end, both the league and the PA are missing the bigger picture: there's a broader cultural leadership role to play and neither organization has said or done what needs to be here.
Article content
Article content
And a huge factor in this is the NHL being the only league of the big four North American professional sports leagues to not have a clearly defined policy around domestic violence and sexual assault.
Article content
The NFL, for instance, does. That's how they handed Deshaun Watson an 11-game ban after being accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions.
Article content
The NFL took those accusations and had their own investigation under the auspices of the policy.
Article content
But everything the NHL does is ad hoc. They have an amorphous standard that they can enforce capriciously. Doing it this way doesn't exactly lay out to players what the expectations are beyond 'don't get your name splashed about in public.'
Article content
That's no way to lead. All it does is perpetuate a 'boys will boys' culture, where the worst sin is getting caught.
Article content