Lorne Gunter: Cancel culture dealt a blow with Hockey Canada sex assault trial verdict
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Those and many, many other headlines and ledes blared out Friday that, in one form or the other, the woman known only as 'E.M.,' who had alleged five Hockey Canada junior players had gang assaulted her in 2018, had been let down by the justice system or even wronged by it.
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To be sure, lots of pigs guilty of real crimes got outed — deservedly. Movie producer Harvey Weinstein was one. In 2021 and 2022, Weinstein was found guilty in both New York and Los Angeles of five counts of rape for forcing young starlets to have sex with him in return for roles in his movies.
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Other abusers, who had gotten away with coerced or non-consensual sexual behaviour for years, saw their reigns of terror ended. Good.
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And I do think the movement has made men, especially those in positions of power, rethink their behaviour towards female underlings. Another good.
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But because social media and cancel culture were the juries that decided which men tarred with the MeToo brush were worthy of punishment (indeed the term 'cancel culture' evolved in lockstep with MeToo) a lot of men lost their careers as the result of a tweet (or two million tweets).
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Actual courts have to concern themselves with little matters such as evidence, due process and reasonable doubt. But not online lynch mobs.
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While office romances were once common, most large companies now have policies preventing bosses (male or female) from 'fraternizing' with employees. Data company Astronomer has just such a policy that, if followed, would have saved CEO Andy Byron and HR executive Kristin Cabot the humiliation of having their extramarital affair exposed to the world on a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert outside Boston last week.
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National Post
6 hours ago
- National Post
Letters: Law and disorder in Hockey Canada verdicts, Freedom Convoy sentencing
Re: Gasps in court as all five players acquitted in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial — Jane Sims, July 24 Article content While Superior Justice Maria Carroccia ruled that the behaviour of the five Hockey Canada players didn't constitute sexual assault, it's very clear that what happened in that hotel room in London, Ont., in 2018 was unsavoury and unbefitting of role models. Hockey Canada needs to do a lot more to promote appropriate behaviour off the ice. In the meantime, may this legal saga be a cautionary tale to all young male hockey players — and their admirers. No one, not the players, the complainant or Hockey Canada, comes out looking good. Article content Article content Article content It's unbelievable that the government of Canada would attempt to make an example of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber by calling for seven- and eight-year sentences respectively for helping organize a peaceful convoy protest. Article content Canadian justice would be better served by the government fixing the revolving door of criminal offenders getting bail instantly, frequently, and being sentenced lightly. Article content The heavy-handed prosecution of Lich and Barber is obviously meant to chill any future protest of government policy that citizens disagree with. This stands in direct contrast with a government that proudly proclaims the right to peaceful protest, such as when anti-Israel groups disrupt traffic, intimidate Christmas shoppers in a mall, or menacingly appear in a Jewish neighbourhood. Article content Article content Article content Tamara Lich and Chris Barber and other honest, hard-working Canadians gave up their time and their work and drove thousands of miles, at their own expense, to reach out to their government, in a peaceful manner, to try to fix a problem that was preventing them from bringing needed products to Canadians. Article content They camped outside the Parliament buildings for one purpose only: to be heard, to exercise their Canadian right to reach out to their government for help, and they brought their children to witness democracy in action. Article content Except, they weren't heard. The prime minister dismissed them cavalierly and refused to listen to their concerns, or send anyone else to listen and address them. Had he done so, the protest would have been over, and everyone could have gone home, happy to have had their concerns addressed. It only droned on for three weeks because the government continued in its refusal to give them a hearing. Article content If anybody is to be sentenced for mischief, it should be our former PM, Justin Trudeau.
Toronto Star
7 hours ago
- Toronto Star
What we can all do now after the Hockey Canada verdict: Be BRAVE
One of the most high-profile sexual assault cases in Canadian sports history has ended in acquittals, a stark reminder that the legal system feels less like a path to justice and more like an obstacle course built to exhaust and discredit people who report. So where does that leave us? What can we do after the verdict, outrage and inevitable backlash? We know what comes next: There will be takes declaring the 'death' of #MeToo, despite its founder, Tarana Burke's steady reminder that Me Too is a movement, not a moment. Misinformation and rape myths will be plastered across social media, echoed in comment sections and dropped casually into family group chats. Every phone notification will give you a sinking feeling in your stomach, like a brick thrown into water. Opinion articles are based on the author's interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
Vancouver Sun
19 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
NHL saying 'hold on' to Hockey Canada five is a good message, but still lacking
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. '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.' 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. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. And they're right on that. 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.' 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. That, presumably, is the crux of the NHLPA's challenge to the league's eligibility position. '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. 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. 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. 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. The NFL took those accusations and had their own investigation under the auspices of the policy. 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.' That's no way to lead. All it does is perpetuate a 'boys will boys' culture, where the worst sin is getting caught. It's not going to foster a culture where people aspire to be the best version of themselves — instead it promotes avoidance of trouble. It's only your fault if you get caught and even then, it might not be yours because someone betrayed you. Creating a clear policy would be a start in a positive direction — but only a start. pjohnston@
