“I’m not sure it’s possible for women to trust an organization with that kind of history anymore,” Beatrice van Dijk, a mother of four girls who played hockey in Toronto, told Cross Country Checkup. “I’m not sure it’s possible for parents who care about young men growing up in a non-toxic, non-sexual power environment to trust an institution that has allowed such behavior.” Hockey Canada’s controversy began in May when the organization reached a settlement with a young woman who claims she was sexually assaulted in 2018 by eight Canadian Hockey League players, including members of that year’s World Junior team. Since then, Sport Canada, an arm of the federal Heritage Department, has frozen funding for Hockey Canada. Several sponsors, including Scotiabank and Tim Hortons, have suspended or withdrawn sponsorships of the organization. Halifax police also opened an investigation into an allegation of a separate gang sexual assault in 2003 involving members of Canada’s 2003 World Junior team.
Lack of accountability
Hockey Canada officials who testified before a House of Commons committee Wednesday said they have paid $8.9 million in sexual abuse settlements to 21 whistleblowers since 1989 from the “National Equity Fund,” which they said is generated by subscriptions members and investments. It’s an embarrassing moment to be Canadian as it relates to hockey.-Beatrice van Dijk, mother of four hockey-playing girls Van Dijk, whose husband was a professional ice hockey player in Germany, said it showed a lack of action to hold people accountable. “It’s an embarrassing moment to be Canadian as it relates to hockey,” he said. “I’m not sure why you would want to accept an invitation to attend one of Hockey Canada’s events given that it has been tarnished with this history.” Van Dijk, who is 48 and now lives in New York state, says incidents like the ones Hockey Canada is currently dealing with are not new. “Everyone seems to think it will stop on its own and no one wants to talk about the details.” LISTEN | Hockey mom on ‘complete institutional failure’ of Hockey Canada scandal: Metro Morning7:57 Mom and hockey coach say Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal is result of ‘complete institutional failure’ Beatrice Van dijk is a mother of 4 girls who played hockey in Toronto
A perennial issue
Former Canadian Hockey League goaltender Brock McGillis has first-hand experience with hockey’s toxic culture. He played for the Windsor Spitfires and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League from 2001 to 2002. He was in his late teens at the time and said his experiences in the junior hockey locker room led him to hate his life. Former Ontario Hockey League player Brock McGill came out as gay in November 2016 and is now an activist in the LGBTQ+ space. (Submitted by Brock McGillis) “The impact of being a gay man in there, hiding who I was and following the rules and being a hockey bro — and what that did to me, I mean, honestly, I was going home … and trying to commit suicide,” he told the Cross Country Checkup. McGillis, who came out as gay in November 2016, says conformity is a critical barrier holding back hockey culture. “People dress the same … talk the same, whether it’s them or not,” he said. “There’s no room to be anything other than the norm – and if you are, you’re different.” According to McGillis, because the players are predominantly white, mostly middle- to upper-class, and usually assumed to be straight, this creates an environment in the locker room for them to say and do things without being held accountable, including using language and engaging in behaviors that harm women, minorities, and people in the LGBTQ community. “Then, in turn, you see thoughts and behaviors that lead to bigotry, lead to misogyny and sexual assault.” LISTEN | Academic Teresa Fowler on Hockey Canada’s ongoing problem with sexism: Day 69:02 Hockey Canada’s ongoing problem with sexism and misogyny Teresa Fowler, an assistant professor of education at Concordia University in Edmonton, is part of a team that interviewed elite-level male hockey players about their experiences with sexism, misogyny and hypermasculinity in the sport. She says her research shows the problem is pervasive, persistent and systemic.
Staying silent
Part of the blame falls on the adults in those venues who didn’t do more to hold those players accountable, McGillis says, citing coaches who come from the same culture and reinforce it in their own coaching. “And typically, hockey people have hockey babies,” he said. “Parents who come from hockey culture put their kids into hockey. So it’s a learned and normalized culture.” No one wants to be the person who looks like they’re stirring the pot.-Teresa Bailey, co-founder of Canadian Hockey Moms Theresa Bailey, a hockey parent for about 16 years and co-founder of the advice site Canadian Hockey Moms, says parents want to have these conversations but avoid speaking publicly for fear of repercussions for their children. “I think everybody wants to talk about these things, but nobody wants to get involved with the member associations or the provincial associations,” he told Cross Country Checkup. “Nobody wants to be the person who looks like they’re stirring the pot.” WATCHES | Advocates say hockey culture needs to change:
Hockey culture needs to change, advocates say, amid fresh sexual assault allegations
Calls are mounting for accountability from Hockey Canada – as well as demands for a change in hockey culture – after a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the 2003 World Juniors was launched. Bailey says she feels that people in positions of power in minor hockey associations who are usually volunteers are not adequately equipped or trained to handle the toxic parts of hockey culture. “This is hard,” he said. “I’ve seen people who really don’t know how to handle some of the problems that come up, or handle them in ways that prevent people from coming forward.”
Taking a stand
Bailey believes the best way to eliminate the toxic atmosphere is for Hockey Canada and similar associations to encourage diversity within teams, on coaching staffs and on the board. “I don’t know how else to do it other than to put people with different opinions that aren’t going to shut down.” Looking ahead, van Dijk believes there is an opportunity to fix hockey culture — and the first step involves parents taking a stand with their wallets when it comes to paying dues to local hockey associations. “I would say ‘I’ll pay you those fees, but only if you don’t pay anything to the provincial hockey association until that provincial hockey association takes a stand for Hockey Canada,’” he said. “Because our fees will enable messed up, toxic, predatory sexual behavior between young men and we don’t want that kind of society.” Mouhamad Rachini writes. Produced by Abby Plener and Steve Howard.
