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Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Hockey's caveman culture must come out of the dark ages
Opinion Everyone even remotely connected to hockey is no doubt straining under the weight of multiple feelings today. The acquittal of five elite hockey players on charges of sexual assault was not unexpected. Throughout the eight-week trial, legal commentators flagged issues that undermined the Crown's case. In the end, Justice Maria Carroccia reached the conclusion that the complainant in this case — known only as E.M. — was not reliable. Many opinion writers have expressed concern about how this case demonstrates all that is wrong with the way the legal system views allegations of sexual assault. Those concerns are completely justified. We need to reframe and modernize the way that system adjudges complaints of this kind, particularly the legal system's definition of 'consent,' a core element in the verdict. Beyond the verdict, however, this case continues to highlight concern about the culture of elite sports in general and hockey in particular. A culture that made it OK for five young, privileged men to share a single woman for sexual gratification. My concern isn't some sort of puritanical repudiation of sexual kink; the spectrum of healthy sexual activity is, as it should be, very broad. My specific concern is that the athletes involved believed it was within the spectrum of healthy to take turns having sex with E.M. in each other's presence. That, in and of itself, raises a range of other issues, some that delve deep into the heart of hockey culture. Although Hockey Canada and its member organizations are trying to promote a healthier attitude towards diversity and inclusion, and definitions of healthy sexual relationships, their efforts seem to be insufficient. For example, since 2016, the Ontario Hockey League, one of Canada's top junior hockey loops, has delivered an educational program on gender-based violence and sexual consent that is supposed to be mandatory for players on all 20 OHL teams. Unfortunately, the sexual assault centres that helped build the program say some teams refuse to participate. The league claims it has no knowledge of teams refusing to participate. The league's 'hear no evil, see no evil' attitude is one of the reasons why it seems that the caveman culture of hockey has been allowed to perpetuate. Last year, Hockey Canada reported that penalties assessed under Rule 11.4 — which penalizes players for taunts or insults based on race, ethnicity, skin colour, language, religion, age, sexual orientation/gender identity or genetic characteristics — were skyrocketing. Since it was introduced to the rule book in 2021-22, the number of Rule 11.4 infractions has gone up by 150 per cent. Even if this is partly due to an initial reluctance by referees to assess these penalties, it's a sign that hockey continues to feature a toxic undercurrent of abuse and discrimination. It seems more and more that even when a few responsible adults try to do something to address these concerns, some other adult comes along and undermines the positive efforts. In 2023-24, the NHL had trouble figuring out how to deal with a handful of players who refused to participate in annual Pride celebration games. In response, some teams, such as the Toronto Maple Leafs ,made their own efforts to educate players about the importance of tolerance and inclusion. In April 2023, the Leafs invited former U.S. Olympic hockey player Meghan Duggan to talk about how gay players were treated by the sport and by society in general. Duggan is gay and a well-known advocate for LGBTTQ+ athletes. Duggan's presentation, which the Leafs posted on social media, involved her asking the players to raise their hands in response to a series of questions that started from the very general to the very personal. 'Raise your hand if you've ever had to stand in front of someone and justify your right to be married.' Duggan was the only person to raise her hand. 'Raise your hand if you've ever had to fight to be recognized as the parent of your own children.' Again, Duggan stood alone with her hand up. Duggan's heartbreaking testimonial should have had a profound impact on the Leafs and, quite frankly, on all professional hockey teams. Unfortunately, it did not. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. Shortly after Duggan spoke to the team, the Leafs and other NHL teams decided to no longer wear Pride-themed warm-up jerseys in deference to a handful of players who refused on religious grounds. They did allow players to use Pride-coloured tape on their sticks. Then, in June, the NHL outright banned Pride jerseys, arguing the controversy over players refusing to wear them was overshadowing the fact that all 32 teams were still hosting Pride celebration nights. In October of the same year, the league banned Pride-coloured stick tape. The inability of all levels of hockey to make unambiguous statements about racism, homophobia and sexual misconduct, and to punish those who refuse to get on board, is one of the main reasons we will never escape events like the trial of those five players. It's hard to know how to respond to our collective failure, but one step forward would be to stop letting the cowards make all the decisions. Dan LettColumnist Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986. Read more about Dan. Dan's columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press' editing team reviews Dan's columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. 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New York Times
24-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Hockey Canada trial could have been a reckoning. It was something else
LONDON, Ont. — On Day 13 of the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, in the Ontario Court of Justice, defense attorney Daniel Brown stood at a lectern cross-examining the 27-year-old woman at the center of the allegations against five former pro hockey players. 'You have this alter ego. We'll call her 'Fun E.M,'' Brown said. 'You feel like you can't be fun without the alcohol.' Advertisement As he suggested that a 'metamorphosis takes place' when she drank, Brown taunted her, using her real name — not 'E.M.' as she must be called here, to protect her identity: 'Fun E.M. needs more alcohol. … Fun E.M. dances freely. … Fun E.M. is outgoing. … Fun E.M. acts on her impulses. … Sober E.M. wouldn't have chosen to cheat on her boyfriend. Right?' During a pause in this intense back-and-forth, Justice Maria Carroccia interjected: 'I've been advised that there is a street party outside on Dundas Street. I think it might get loud.' The London Knights — the Ontario Hockey League's top team — had a playoff game later that evening, and the brick road between the Ontario Court of Justice and the Canada Life Place, where the major junior team plays, was closed as fans reveled in advance of the big game. The bass from loud music below buzzed the courtroom wall. A short time later, court was dismissed early … on account of the raucous hockey party outside. If there was a moment that encapsulated the Hockey Canada trial, this was it. The most high-profile legal battle in the sport's history was muted by a celebration of a junior hockey team. On Thursday, Carroccia acquitted all five players — Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, Cal Foote, and Carter Hart — on sexual assault charges, stating that she did not find the victim's claims 'credible or reliable.' It ended an eight-week trial and a seven-year saga that began one night in London between a 20-year-old woman and members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior Hockey team. In an austere, wood-paneled courtroom, the five players were on trial and, to some degree, so too was the woman. But the case has always been viewed more broadly. After the allegations emerged three years ago via news of a settlement quietly paid by Hockey Canada, it highlighted how the sport and its leaders have long been unable or unwilling to create accountability. The lurid accusations against the Hockey Canada 5 echoed decades of similar incidents, and the case became a stand-in for other allegations that were minimized or ignored. Advertisement The sport faced scrutiny and shame, including Parliamentary hearings and lectures from, among others, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but would anything truly change? The Hockey Canada case — involving Canada's gold medalists turned professional players — would be the test of it, the chance to send a resounding message about the sport's direction. And that message was sent. It was just not the one many expected. From the glass elevator within the Delta Armouries hotel, you can look out over London and, within one panorama, see all the key locales featured in the case: the concrete court of justice that neighbors Canada Life Place, the Knights' 10,000-seat home arena; and beyond a large public park and a gothic cathedral, Jack's bar, where the woman and the players first connected. London is the largest city in southwestern Ontario, home to close to 450,000 people. It is the central commercial hub for the rural communities that stretch to the shores of Lake Erie to the south and Lake Huron to the northwest. It is home to more than 80,000 university and college students. But more than anything, London is a hockey town — home to the Knights, a team that boasts the highest attendance in major junior hockey and has had more players drafted to the NHL than any other team. The Knights would win their third national championship in June, with thousands of fans flocking to celebrate in the street between the court and the arena, littered with green and gold confetti. This was the backdrop in which a 20-year-old woman met members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team at Jack's on dollar-beer night seven years ago. After a consensual encounter with one of those players, she claimed to have been assaulted by several members of the national team in room 209 of the Armouries hotel. Advertisement Though London police closed an initial investigation without charges, an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount was reached between the alleged victim and Hockey Canada five years later. That settlement was supposed to have been the end of it. But news broke of the allegations and the payout, creating a firestorm of media attention and public outcry. Canada's national pastime became a national crisis. Trudeau criticized Hockey Canada's handling of the incident. Politicians demanded mass resignations. Amid that scrutiny, the London Police Service reopened its investigation. The five players were charged with sexual assault in late January 2024 and were granted indefinite leaves of absence from their pro teams. There was wide speculation that none of them would play in the NHL again. Before those charges were brought, E.M. and her mother sat on the second floor of 254 Pall Mall St. in downtown London and were presented with the opportunity to end the case. Meaghan Cunningham, a veteran Ottawa-based prosecutor who chairs the Sexual Assault Advisory Group within the Crown's criminal division, was there. So was Heather Donkers, an assistant crown attorney, just a few years older than E.M. As a university student, she was a victim of sexual assault. She went through a lengthy police investigation and testified in court. That experience, which ended in a guilty verdict, led her to a career in criminal justice. Karen Bellehumeur, a former Crown attorney who specializes in representing victims of sexual violence, sat beside them. They believed E.M. and wanted to prosecute the players, Cunningham said, but if E.M. was hoping to see them convicted, they warned her to think hard about moving forward. Her life would be picked apart. Media coverage would be intense. Public discourse would be cruel. Advertisement Despite that reality, some victims want to be heard. They want to be seen. They want to fight back. In a six-page document outlining the 68-minute meeting, two sentences offer the only glimpse into E.M's thoughts: No questions, the notes state. EM wants to proceed. It was a circus almost from the start. During a three-hour stretch early in the trial, one courtroom attendee would be arrested on suspicion of secretly recording proceedings with his smart glasses; another attendee would be banished from the building for exploding at a reporter and blaming him for 'ruining those boys' lives.' Later, a police officer would intercept a man for trying to find E.M. in the courthouse while she testified remotely. A local newspaper accidentally breached a publication ban and published materials that revealed E.M.'s identity. There were also multiple delays caused by a malfunctioning HVAC system that made the heat in the courtroom almost unbearable, and there were near-constant IT issues that slowed or stopped the proceedings. Even the clock in the 13th-floor courtroom didn't work, ticking four hours ahead. On top of all that, two juries were dismissed. Shortly after Crown attorney Heather Donkers' opening statement, one juror claimed that, while standing in the same line at a nearby market over lunch, defense attorney Hilary Dudding noted all the 'head-nodding' that had occurred that morning. Dudding denied the allegation when it was discussed in court, but the defense lawyers agreed that the jury of 11 women and three men had to be dismissed. Carroccia declared a mistrial. Then, on May 22, after E.M. finished nine grueling days on the stand, a juror handed Carroccia a note: 'Multiple jury members feel we are being judged and made fun of by (defense) lawyers (Daniel) Brown and Hilary Dudding. Every day when we enter the courtroom they observe us, whisper to each other and turn to each other and laugh as if they are discussing our appearance. This is unprofessional and unacceptable.' Advertisement In both instances, the Crown fought to preserve the jury, asking that intermediate measures be applied to remedy the situation, but the defense argued vehemently that even the optics of impropriety were too problematic and it would be impossible for their clients to receive a fair trial. Carroccia agreed with the defense. The second jury was dismissed. E.M. sat alone in a sterile gray office 10 floors below the courtroom, at a desk that held a glass of water and a box of tissues, throughout a withering cross-examination by five teams of defense attorneys. 'I'm going to suggest that part of what made Mr. McLeod attractive to you is that he was an elite hockey player and that he was loaded,' said David Humphrey, McLeod's lawyer. 'One of your coping mechanisms may have actually been offering things and asking to have sex with these men,' Megan Savard, Hart's lawyer, suggested. 'As long as it's a tall guy, you'll go home with him?' Daniel Brown asked, rhetorically. 'You refer to these individuals as man and men over and over, and you not once, not one single time, refer to them as boy or boys,' said Julianna Greenspan, Foote's attorney, arguing that E.M. had a 'clear agenda' in doing so. 'In your head you wanted to be the focus of the room,' said Lisa Carnelos, Dubé's lawyer, 'But these boys were having fun amongst themselves separate and apart from your existence.' Early in those cross-examinations, E.M. was apologetic and compliant. But as the days passed, she grew agitated and combative. By the end, she was self-assured. At one point, Brown questioned why she didn't disclose what had happened when she spoke with a friend the next morning. 'I was really embarrassed,' she testified. 'I felt so much shame. I was just messaging her as if nothing was wrong. I was coping.' Brown saw an opening. Advertisement 'Shame and embarrassment at the choices you made,' he said, and then: 'Thank you, your honor …' 'No, I'd like to finish,' E.M. interrupted. 'I made the choice to dance with him and drink at the bar. I did not make the choice to have them do what they did back at the hotel.' It is impossible to know how a jury would have viewed E.M.'s many hours of testimony. But Carroccia, on Thursday, said: 'I conclude that I cannot rely on (her testimony).' We all need to say the same thing if we get interviewed, McLeod texted on June 26, 2018, in a group chat with his teammates who were in room 209, can't have different stories or make anything up. They debated organizing a phone call or a group chat on SnapChat. Jake Bean, one of the players in the room, reminded everyone that McLeod took two videos that night in which he pressed E.M. to say she consented after sexual acts had occurred. Ok ya f— boys we are fine the boys who did things got consent so just tell them that and it's fine, Dubé responded. Brett Howden agreed. All we have to say is 'someone brought the girl back to the room. We were all in there ordering food and then this girl started begging from everyone to have sex with her,' he wrote. Nobody would do it. But then as time went on she gave three guys head. Once things started to get out of hand we all left and got her out. Yeah or no? Howden asked. Sounds good to me, Maxime Comtois responded. In another exchange, the players strategized how to deal with the investigation. Howden, for one, expressed anger that the woman's claims had caused them such embarrassment. If anything we should put an allegation on her, he wrote. Carroccia rejected the Crown's premise that players were attempting to get their stories straight. During the trial, the Crown called Howden, Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katchouk and Tyler Steenbergen as witnesses. Teammates testifying against teammates. Advertisement 'Sitting here today, I don't remember exactly what interactions I had,' Raddysh testified of that night. Katchouk was asked what happened at Jack's bar that night. 'I can't remember.' It was his birthday. He was pretty drunk, he said. Did he have any memory of receiving the group text message from McLeod that night inviting his teammates to join in a three-way? 'I don't recall.' Steenbergen didn't recall that text message from McLeod either. But he remembered that he made it to the room, looking for food, and that everyone was in 'shock' over E.M.'s request for sex acts. Donkers asked who was standing around the bed when Foote straddled E.M. 'I don't remember.' Was he clothed? 'He came in with them on, and I couldn't see afterward.' Howden, who vividly described E.M being slapped on the buttocks 'so hard it looked like it hurt so bad' in a text to Raddysh a week after the incident, had no memory of it while on the stand. Did he remember where in the room it happened? 'No, I don't. … I don't remember seeing it.' Does he remember if she was clothed or unclothed? 'No, I don't.' Does he remember what she was doing in the moment she was spanked? 'No, I don't.' Did he remember how he felt when it happened? 'I don't remember how I felt. I don't have a memory of that.' Howden's recollection was so poor that Cunningham accused him of feigning memory loss to protect his former teammates. The defense jumped in, bringing up the multiple head injuries Howden has suffered in his hockey career as a plausible reason why he wouldn't be able to even recall the text message he sent describing Dubé slapping E.M.'s buttocks. Hart was the only defendant to take the stand. He remembered much: E.M. asking for sex, receiving oral sex from her, E.M. leading Formenton to the bathroom, holding his hand. He recalled her offering more sex, in various ways. He remembered that E.M. laughed when Foote straddled her in the splits, with his pants on. Advertisement Was there physical contact between them? 'No, there was not. … I was standing right beside them.' Hart was also certain he did not see Dubé slap her naked buttocks or hear the woman cry. Was it possible he forgot? 'No. I wouldn't have stayed in the room.' By his own account, Hart could only recall about half of what happened while he was in the room, but what he remembered featured no wrongdoing. Later, Hart acknowledged his memory loss. 'Yes, I do have gaps,' to which the Crown attorney remarked that he spent more time in that room doing things for which he had no memory than doing things for which he had a memory. Did Hart agree with that assessment? 'I'm really not sure.' Carroccia, in her analysis, considered these memory lapses to be the understandable result of the influence of alcohol and time passing. Even before the verdict came, hockey teased the final message the scandal would deliver. In early May, as the trial entered its fourth week, Joel Quenneville was hired as head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, after a four-year exile from the league for his part in covering up the sexual abuse of one of his former players by a member of his coaching staff with the Chicago Blackhawks. A few days later, two-time Stanley Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Adam Foote was named head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. At the news conference introducing Foote, he declined to discuss what was happening in the London courthouse where his son sat charged with sexual assault. Carroccia's verdict was not needed for the discourse to turn to the pros and cons of signing one of the Hockey Canada 5, presuming the NHL reinstates them. Those musings swirled mostly on social media until former goalie and current NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes mused on TSN's 'Free Agency Frenzy' special whether Carter Hart might be a fit in goal for the Edmonton Oilers. Popular blogs and podcasts soon followed with similar speculation. Carroccia's complete exoneration of the players clears the path for teams to add them. It will only be a matter of time. Advertisement In the final accounting, the most tangible change resulting from the scandal is that Hockey Canada no longer has a slush fund to quietly pay off victims. Yes, some sponsors left, but several — like Tim Hortons, Telus, and Bauer — have already returned. Others, undoubtedly, will follow. There will be Hockey Canada galas in the years ahead to fete young heroes, just with no open bar, per new alcohol policies. As for the message sent… The players and the sport were the victims. And now the game is free to move on. (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Andy Devlin, Peter Power / AFP / Getty Images; Geoff Robins / The Canadian Press / AP Photo; iStock)
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'He Meant A Lot To Me': Easton Cowan On Mitch Marner Leaving Maple Leafs For Golden Knights
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan has followed Mitch Marner's junior footsteps, winning a Memorial Cup with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, but he hasn't been in contact with the player yet since Marner joined the Vegas Golden Knights after nine seasons with the Leafs.
Hamilton Spectator
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Dale Hunter named head coach, brother Mark gets management role with Canada juniors
CALGARY - Dale Hunter will coach Canada's team at the 2026 world junior hockey championship while his brother Mark will join the team's management group, Hockey Canada announced Thursday. It will be the second time the Hunters lead Canada's world junior team. Dale served as head coach and Mark was general manager when Canada won gold at the 2020 tournament in Ostrava, Czechia, defeating Russia in the final. The Hunter brothers, along with former NHL enforcer Basil McRae, own the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights. Dale is president and head coach, and Mark is vice-president and general manager of the Knights, who have won three Memorial Cup titles and six OHL championships since taking over operations in 2000. Canada has won 20 gold and 35 total medals at the world junior hockey championship but is looking to rebound from a disappointing fifth-place finish at the 2025 tournament in Ottawa. The United States won gold for the second year in a row. The 2026 world juniors are set to be held in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Dale Hunter named head coach, brother Mark gets management role with Canada juniors
CALGARY – Dale Hunter will coach Canada's team at the 2026 world junior hockey championship while his brother Mark will join the team's management group, Hockey Canada announced Thursday. It will be the second time the Hunters lead Canada's world junior team. Dale served as head coach and Mark was general manager when Canada won gold at the 2020 tournament in Ostrava, Czechia, defeating Russia in the final. The Hunter brothers, along with former NHL enforcer Basil McRae, own the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights. Dale is president and head coach, and Mark is vice-president and general manager of the Knights, who have won three Memorial Cup titles and six OHL championships since taking over operations in 2000. Canada has won 20 gold and 35 total medals at the world junior hockey championship but is looking to rebound from a disappointing fifth-place finish at the 2025 tournament in Ottawa. The United States won gold for the second year in a row. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The 2026 world juniors are set to be held in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025.
