TRIGGER WARNING: The following article contains details and references to sexual assault, racism, and hazing, which can be disturbing to victims.
There’s nothing about the revelations of the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault scandal that should be shocking for anyone who follows the NHL.
It’s disgusting, and it’s shameful how the NHL responded to it. But it’s not surprising for anyone who pays attention to the sport.
It’s no lie that the scandal was the biggest the NHL has seen in modern times.
A scandal that resulted in the resignation of Stan Bowman from his role as general manager of the Blackhawks, as well as other organization members from 2010, including Al MacIsaac, the team’s senior vice president of hockey operations, and Joel Quenneville, their head coach from the Blackhawk Dynasty who led the Florida Panthers to a 7-0-0 start in his 3rd season before his resignation.
And because of this scandal, their 2010 Stanley Cup run is tainted. Their whole dynasty is now tainted.
They wanted to “protect the team chemistry” instead of addressing the issue involving Brad Aldrich and Kyle Beach.
They knew all along about the scandal at hand, but they never even cared about it in the first place. Quenneville and Kevin Cheveldayoff said that they had no knowledge of the allegations? They were at the May 23, 2010 meeting discussing the allegations!
In that same meeting, they said that they would not discuss that matter until after the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but what was the reality? They did not discuss the matter EVER again.
See? They did not even care about the issue in the first place.
This is a scandal that is embarrassing from every angle. Choosing to stay silent when a young player is suffering and having to use alcohol to cope with this.
It’s a damning testament to the Blackhawks that they were interested in other things than protecting current and future survivors of Aldrich.
The trauma of the assault is worse because of the reaction of the Blackhawks.
Some of his teammates were even using anti-gay slurs as he was being labeled a “locker room cancer.” The reality is that Beach was telling the truth this entire time, yet nobody even wanted to believe him. Not even James Gary, the Blackhawks’ former mental skills coach, who said that the sexual assault was Beach’s fault and that Beach allowed it to happen.
And the fact that Jonathan Toews, the team captain, called Bowman and MacIsaac “good people” should say something about this.
When Alex DeBrincat and Taylor Hall give more empathetic responses than Toews, who was around during the Blackhawk Dynasty, there is a serious problem. Where is the responsibility from the team captain?
“His reputation took a hit, which is really saying something in this town, right?” said Brian Hanley, a former Chicago Sun-Times reporter. “So when you show more empathy for Stan Bowman, seemingly, than you did for Kyle Beach, maybe it speaks to the bubble pro athletes live in today, but that did not go unnoticed for a lot of people who are upset with this and try to figure out how they move forward as a fan.”
In an interview, DeBrincat said that the resignation of Bowman was “probably a change that needed to happen.” He also added on the details of the scandal:
It’s sad, anytime something like that happens it’s really sad and very disturbing like I said, you never wish that on anyone. You know for them to be that young trying to get into the league and that happening I think it is a horrible story and you know hopefully it never happens again.
Hall added:
Our hearts go out to Kyle Beach. We were playing junior at a similar time, and it’s just so unfortunate that he had to go through that. We were talking about it last night. Everyone just feels terrible for him and hope that he can get some solace in the end of this.
Every culture needs to keep getting better and hockey’s no different. This is a game that’s a little bit of, I guess what you would call an old boys’ club. There’s definitely some secrecy and things that need to change and hopefully they can. You never want to think of an incident like this, positives coming from it because it’s been so terrible. But there needs to be changes and unfortunately people need to be held accountable.
The fact that they gave more empathetic responses than Toews draws a massive stain on the reputation of the Blackhawks captain. Good people don’t ignore sexual assault accusations and the trauma that one is going through after he was sexually assaulted.
This was not a mistake. This was a decision made to protect a winning team. The Blackhawks’ cover-up gave Aldrich the rights to keep preying on his victims, leading to more sexual abuse, including a minor in a Michigan high school.
When the findings came to light, Stan Bowman was allowed to resign instead of being professionally reprimanded with his firing, both from his role as general manager of the Blackhawks and USA Hockey. Both Quenneville and Cheveldayoff, who moved on from the Blackhawks and took roles with the Panthers and Winnipeg Jets, respectively, were allowed to carry on with their roles. Quenneville even coached against the Boston Bruins before the Panthers declined his media availability postgame, resulting in them allowing him to resign rather than firing him for his role in the scandal.
I’ve had suspicions on the NHL being a boys’ club league, but this scandal is confirmation.
What’s further proof of this is the amount of coaches or executives who are former players and/or guys who knew former players. Basically, if you are a former player or you know a former or current player, you’re most likely going to get a coaching job or an executive position.
For example, Wayne Gretzky. The Great One himself had a disaster of a coaching tenure with the Phoenix Coyotes from 2005 to 2009. When Jerry Moyes became the majority owner of the Yotes, there was uncertainty about his future until he agreed to a five-year extension. During his tenure, the Coyotes failed to reach the playoffs, let alone get out of the bottom four teams in the Western Conference.
But let’s go back. I simply cannot understand how the Blackhawks were fined $2 million for the sexual assault scandal while the Devils were fined $3 million for circumventing the salary cap when they were signing Ilya Kovalchuk, and the Yotes losing draft picks for combine violations.
There is absolutely no reason for commissioner Gary Bettman to wait to speak to anyone since the findings already show what happened. Bowman knew about them. Quenneville knew too. Same for Cheveldayoff. They all covered it up so they can win the Stanley Cup. All while ignoring a survivor and allowed a predator to walk free and hurt others.
This is criminal.
It’s understandable that Blackhawks fans and hockey fans, in general, to be horrified and betrayed at this. But although Bettman said that “action has been taken—disciplinary—to address the things that were done wrong” and that “we have to move forward best we can, doing the things that are right,” first, no disciplinary action is ever going to reverse the damage that was already done. Second, am I supposed to believe this if the NHL and the NHLPA have not done anything to truly address the matter?
And it’s not the first time the NHL has failed to address a specific topic, whether it be sexual assault or racism. Let’s look back at a previous statement, released after the murder of George Floyd and the protests resulting afterward:
As protests in both the United States and Canada in recent days have focused attention upon racial justice for the Black community, the NHL stands with all those who are working to achieve a racially just society, and against all those who perpetuate and uphold racism, hatred, bigotry, and violence. We share the sentiments expressed by our players and Clubs in their calls for justice, and we encourage everyone to use their platforms and privilege for systemic change. In our own sport, we will continue to do better and work diligently toward culture change throughout hockey and endeavor to be mindful of our own shortcomings in this process.
The big problem with statements like these from the NHL is that they will constantly say they will do better, but they don’t actually address or comment on what they will really do. The PR teams are basically failing at their jobs.
The NHL is a business and a brand, and marketing and crisis management techniques that most apply to them are ones taught in MBA programs. First, they should acknowledge the problem. Second, the head of the company or the top spokesman needs to be the one to communicate that—in this case, Bettman himself. Last, the corporation or individual needs to over-correct. Think back to the Tylenol Crisis of 1982.
At that time, the New York Islanders made a similar statement regarding the racial injustice happening throughout the United States:
We condemn racism and injustice and stand with all affected by senseless violence. We must come together, treating each other with empathy, dignity, and respect.
The New York Islanders endorse the NHL’s statement, which includes: “In our own sport we will continue to do better and work diligently toward culture change throughout hockey and endeavor to be mindful of our own shortcomings in this process.”
To the brave officers who go to work every day seeing the human being and not the color of one’s skin, we thank you for protecting us.
There is nothing inherently wrong with the statements made by the NHL and the Islanders, and even though it’s good that they spoke up on the matter, this means nothing because they only slightly mentioned the issue at hand. They don’t mention George Floyd and his murder. They also fail from the race perspective mentioning seeing a human being and not the skin—that doesn’t address the issue that nobody in the world doesn’t see color.
Besides, the statement must come from the top of the organization, whether it be Bettman in the NHL’s case or co-owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin in the Islanders’ case. Even though the statements mention being better, they don’t mention a strategy or solution on a way to help. They need to mention what actions they will take or solutions to implement.
Now let’s look at Bettman’s statement after the resignation of Quenneville:
The National Hockey League agrees with the decision tonight by Joel Quenneville to resign his duties as head coach of the Florida Panthers. In his former role as Chicago Blackhawks head coach, Mr. Quenneville was among several former members of the Club’s senior leadership group who mishandled the 2010 sexual assault claim by former player Kyle Beach against the Club’s then-video coach, Brad Aldrich. And, following a meeting with Mr. Quenneville that took place this afternoon in my office, all parties agreed that it was no longer appropriate that he continue to serve as Florida’s head coach.
I admire Kyle Beach for his courage in coming forward, am appalled that he was so poorly supported upon making his initial claim and in the 11 years since, and am sorry for all he has endured.
We thank the Panthers’ organization for working with us to ensure that a thorough process was followed. Given the result, there is no need for any further action by the NHL regarding Mr. Quenneville at this time. However, should he wish to re-enter the League in some capacity in the future, I will require a meeting with him in advance in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place.
At first, this statement may sound okay. But please re-read the second half of the last paragraph one more time.
Notice something fishy? No?
What’s fishy is that the sexual assault case has been covered up for 11 years and what this is only doing is a direct invitation for Quenneville to essentially apply for reinstatement for a head coaching position, no matter what team it may be.
What the NHL is doing is giving the green light for future sexual assaults to happen in the NHL. It doesn’t matter if it is from Aldrich, it can be anyone. And this is happening under Bettman’s leadership, who, outside of the $2 million fine, has done nothing to take action on this matter.
Simply fining the Blackhawks $2 million is not enough. The only punishment fitting enough is Aldrich receiving a lifetime ban from any NHL workplace or any hockey workplace and from leadership positions, especially any positions in youth-serving organizations.
The players are not out of this either. Ex-Blackhawks defenseman Brent Sopel said that the players knew about the scandal, yet nobody said a word.
Then there are the reporters who failed to report on this and failed to share it when it was reported. Some of said reporters are now calling for the NHL to take action, but they failed to do their jobs when it truly mattered.
There are many more cases of sexual abuse and more that we don’t hear about and may never hear about. Why, you ask? Because hockey culture. SafeSport’s database allows you to track how many coaches have been banned for sexual abuse.
What the Blackhawks are doing is sending a twisted message to the hockey community—to not tell anyone. All that happens is that you will be retraumatized and there will not be any justice served.
“It’s an absolute trainwreck, how the Chicago Blackhawks handled this situation. And I don’t think they’ll ever recover from it,” said Theo Fleury, who, in his 2009 book “Playing with Fire” revealed that he suffered sexual abuse by former coach Graham James in his childhood. “It’s a stain on that storied franchise. The simple fact that nobody has the courage to step forward and tell the truth? They just keep passing the buck.”
And to make matters worse, the NHL, just like Bettman, came across this issue arrogantly in their reaction to being forced to look at how toxic and ugly the entire system is.
Want proof? Look not further than the Blackhawks calling the sexual assault a “sexual encounter” in their letter to formally request Aldrich’s name to be removed from the Stanley Cup. This just shows how sick and toxic the entire system is and how steep the uphill climb is to get said toxicity out of hockey’s culture.
Nobody has learned anything from this. The system needs to be torn apart and rebuilt because it is not just a few people. It’s the entire business, from reporters to players to coaches to the media to the PR. And that also includes Gary Bettman. The resignations of Bowman and Quenneville do nothing to fix the real issues, nor does it fix the way these people act.
Everyone should go, because not only were they complicit then, they’re still being complicit now. That’s the problem. Not to mention that the Blackhawks filed court motions to dismiss both lawsuits in an attempt to destroy Beach’s case in court.
That’s just the NHL side of things.
USA Hockey even allowed Bowman, who was named the general manager for their Olympic team, to resign, after they did nothing to fire him.
Who did they replace him with? Bill Guerin, who was also under investigation for allegedly covering up a sexual assault when with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins when former coach Clark Donatelli molested Erin Skalde twice during an outing in a road trip in 2018. WBS asked Jarrod Skalde to keep the reason for Donatelli’s termination quiet and that the team punished him for reporting the assault and later terminated his position under the guise of “pandemic-related staff cuts.”
Neither one of Bowman, Quenneville, or any key leader from the Blackhawks’ 2010 staff deserve second chances. None of them should be allowed leadership positions ever again. They should not be allowed in a position where, should this happen again, they are the ones making the decisions. Simply getting rid of them solves nothing.
What will truly solve the problem is a culture change, which can only happen if leadership is willing to change.
The league needs policies on how to handle sexual assault allegations and the punishments that should be handed out. Education is a must, both for players coming in through youth hockey and for current players. But it needs to be more vigorous and not a seminar. Teams need to teach players on how to be active bystanders. The hotline that Bettman promised also needs to happen.
Bettman only sees this as a single incident that needs to be cleaned up instead of another chapter of systematic failure that needs sweeping change in culture and attitudes in the sport. He talked about opening the NHL hotline to players and personnel, asking experts on their opinion on the league efforts, and said that he believes all NHL teams are taking notice.
But when asked about the specifics, or the slightest bit of understanding that this is a problem too late and too big to be contained, he could not do that. And he didn’t even try to do it.
When he was asked on if Quenneville was allowed to be the Panthers’ head coach after he said that the allegations against Aldrich should be set aside because he didn’t want anything to derail their pursuit of the Stanley Cup, Bettman essentially said that Quenneville had coached 867 games since that meeting so one more would not matter.
Asked on if there were no sanctions on Cheveldayoff, Bettman said his responsibilities at the time were salary cap and scouting, and that it should have been up to his boss to pursue the allegations.
Asked on if Cheveldayoff had a responsibility to raise questions on if he saw Aldrich celebrating with the Blackhawks after winning the Stanley Cup, Bettman basically said, “Nothing to see here, please disperse!”
Asked on if the Blackhawks were not forced to forfeit draft picks, the traditional means of serious wrongdoing in any league, Bettman claimed that the $2 million fine was “substantial by any measure.” Given the Blackhawks are valued at over $1 billion, his definition of “substantial” is more than just generous.
Asked on if he would allow Bowman and McDonough to work in the NHL again, Bettman said that he has no current plans to discipline them for covering up the sexual assault scandal.
“Those that needed to be separated from the game have been separated from the game,” said Bettman. “If there’s a point in the future, where any of them are interested in coming back, and there’s a club in having them, then we’ll have to evaluate that. I’ll have to evaluate that at the time, taking into account all the facts and circumstances as we then know, including what may have transpired since the separation to that particular point and time. Nobody’s been made any promises, if that’s what you’re asking. Absolutely not. I’m not sure as I sit here today, how I would react at some point in the future if there was a request to come back.”
But his most shameful response is that he couldn’t and wouldn’t promise that the NHL would provide counseling to the 16-year-old who was sexually assaulted by Aldrich in 2013. This is a crime that could have easily been prevented had the Blackhawks not covered up the sexual assault scandal and not treat Beach as if he was a locker room cancer.
“I would have to know more about that circumstance,” said Bettman. “I’m more focused, because of the circumstances in front of us, on what happened in the NHL environment. I certainly wouldn’t rule it out. We need to know more information. Having said that, making resources available, it’s something that I will probably, not even knowing all the facts, want to do. But I think I need to know more before I can make the type of blanket commitment.”
Wrong answer, Bettman.
The correct answer would be is to admit that the Blackhawks, and the NHL to an extent, completely screwed up, and that they’re committed to do whatever it takes to fix a toxic culture that places winning above player’s safety. He thinks that the culture is already changing when he cited the horror and anger that many players have expressed throughout the time.
The reality points something very, very different.
Toews and Patrick Kane expressed sympathy for Bowman and the now-departed Blackhawks executives.
When it comes to preventing sexual misconduct and the atmosphere it causes around it, personal feelings should be put aside entirely.
Someone who is a “good guy” is not someone who allows sexual assault to happen in the first place. Considering someone a good guy does not preclude him from becoming a sexual predator or enabler.
That Toews and Kane don’t recognize this means that they do not understand the dynamics that allowed Aldrich to go on with his predation unhindered. This also means they won’t recognize if it happens again, and that someone else in Beach’s position might not feel comfortable going to them for help. It doesn’t stop the cycle completely. It just puts it on hold.
Which is why Beach is skeptical on if Bettman is going to take the scandal seriously. “They already let me down. They wouldn’t investigate for me. So why now?” he said.
On the side of the NHLPA, Fehr “apologized” for the failure to help and protect Beach:
Kyle Beach has been through a horrific experience and has shown true courage in telling his story. There is no doubt that the system failed to support him in his time of need, and we are part of that system. In his media interview, Mr. Beach stated that several months after the incident he told someone at the NHLPA the details of what happened to him. He is referring to one of the program doctors with the NHL/NHLPA assistance program. While this program is confidential between players and the doctors, the grave nature of this incident should have resulted in further action on our part. The fact that it did not was a serious failure. I am sorry, and I am committed to making changes to ensure it does not happen again.
Beach even had equally strong words for Fehr. “For him to turn his back on players when his one job is to protect the players at all costs, I don’t know how that could be your leader,” he added.
And he has a point on having said strong words.
First, apology statements mean nothing if no action is being taken to prevent any further cases of sexual assault. Second, Fehr failed to mention Aldrich or James Gary, the latter of which was the mental skills coach of the Blackhawks during the time of the assault, who convinced Beach that the sexual assault was his fault and that he allowed it to happen. Third, he did not mention what exact changes there will be to prevent future incidents from happening.
Brent Sopel said it best. Everyone from the 2010 Blackhawks organization and everyone from the NHL front office should be apologizing to Beach. He even said the blame for what Beach endured rests with Blackhawks players and management, the NHL and NHLPA, Beach’s representatives and the hockey community. This is an issue that is bigger than hockey and bigger than sports.
The whole prioritization of winning over physical and mental health is very commonplace in American sports. Athletes are constantly being told to disassociate from bodies, shaking off injuries, and playing through pain (for example: Erik Karlsson, who played with a broken foot for all of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Tom Brady, who played through the entire 2020 NFL season with a torn MCL on his left knee). The interest of the organization is often skewed with that of the athlete. And anything that doesn’t have to do with winning is easily dismissed regardless of who is involved.
Basically, the player has no say on what he wants in the case of injury diagnosis. It’s not the player’s body. It’s the team’s body. And that is seriously twisted in sports, because when someone wants a specific kind of surgery, you have to give them what they want.
Take the Jack Eichel injury saga for example. When he was diagnosed with a herniated disk after hitting his head on the boards against the Islanders on March 7th, 2021,the Buffalo Sabres wanted Eichel to get anterior cervical discectomy, which involves removing the impacted disk and fusion by placing a bone graft where the disk was. This surgery was done on Peyton Manning in 2011 and on former Mets captain David Wright. Eichel wanted artificial disk replacement, which does not involve fusion, and, instead, an artificial disk is placed between the two cervical vertebrae.
The two sides were at a disagreement towards the type of surgery that Eichel was wanting, and, as a result, he requested a trade. His wish was granted when he got traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and first- and second-round picks. Upon arriving to Vegas, he got the surgery he wanted.
And don’t think I’m going to leave Bettman off the hook. This is a man who refuses to admit that CTE is directly linked to concussions.
CTE can only be diagnosed after death with a brain autopsy, but it is profoundly devastating, with symptoms including memory problems, personality changes, aggression and depression.
“I don’t believe there has been, based on everything I’ve been told—and if anybody has information to the contrary, we’d be happy to hear it—other than some anecdotal evidence, there has not been that conclusive link,” said Bettman.
Said anecdotal evidence points towards the contrary. And one prime example of this is the late journeyman defenseman Steve Montador, who was diagnosed with CTE after his death in 2015.
“Just repeat the Steve Montador case as a retort to what Bettman said,” said Dr. Charles Tator, a University of Toronto neurosurgery professor who thoroughly disagrees with Bettman’s statement and says that there is a conclusive link to concussions and CTE. “How many Steve Montadors does he need to convince him of the relationship?”
Tator added, “We don’t know how many players with multiple concussions will get it. That’s an important rider. ... So why doesn’t Gary Bettman acknowledge that?”
Bettman has some company with CFL commissioner Randy Ambroise. Ambroise said that there is not enough evidence to confirm a connection between football head injuries and CTE.
However, Jeff Miller, the NFL’s public affairs/communications chief who oversees the NFL’s player health and safety, acknowledged the link during a discussion on concussions convened by US Congress in March 2016.
Bettman, meanwhile, told the parliamentary panel that hockey is safer for players and different in terms of physical contact than the NFL, where there are repeated blows to players’ heads.
Tator said that there were more football player brain samples being examined than those from hockey players.
Even if the league reached a settlement with hundreds of retired players who claimed harm from head injuries while playing, the NHL did not even admit fault for their wrongdoing.
And that’s just another part of the toxic hockey culture. But the problems arise beyond the Aldrich sexual assault scandal and Bettman’s refusal to link concussions to CTE.
Think of what Bob Murray has installed in the Anaheim Ducks’ locker room. He allegedly instilled a toxic locker room environment based on the improper professional conduct accusations against him.
It all came to light “upon recommendation from [the] initial findings” from the investigative team from law firm Shephard Mullin, which is telling of the severity, as shown in this statement from the Ducks:
We recently became aware of accusations of improper professional conduct against Bob Murray. After internal review, we enlisted Shephard Mullin to perform an independent investigation. Upon recommendation from their initial findings, we have decided to place Bob on administrative leave pending final results. In the interim, Vice President of Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager Jeff Solomon will assume the role of Interim General Manager. We will have no further comment until the investigation is complete.
Days later, he announced his resignation and later enrolled in an alcohol-treatment program.
It’s very hard to believe that a man that is so stable and mature nearly decapitate a woman while hurling a chair after the Ducks lost a playoff game in 2009 could create such a toxic workplace environment.
Also, he got out of that lawsuit not because people were disputing that he hit the woman with the chair he threw, but because of a technicality.
And even so, Mike Babcock, the former head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs was criticized for his management style and treatment of players. Former Red Wing Chris Chelios verbally accused Babcock of verbally assaulting Johan Franzen, causing Franzen a nervous breakdown.
“It got to the point with poor Johan, no one really knowing that he was suffering with the concussion thing and the depression thing, he just broke down,” said Chelios. “He had a nervous breakdown. Not only on the bench but in one of the rooms after the game. It’s probably the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Franzen even recalled the event.
“I get shivers when I think about it,” he said in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Expressen. “That was against Nashville in the playoffs. It was rough, nasty, and shocking. But that was just one of a hundred things he did. The tip of an iceberg.”
The incident they are referring to was during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Red Wings fell to the Nashville Predators. At that time, Babcock was the head coach, with Jeff Blashill and Bill Peters as assistant coaches. Chelios was a Senior Advisor to Hockey Operations under General Manager Ken Holland.
“From 2011, I was terrified of being in the arena,” said Franzen. “I just focused on getting up in the mornings. It was then that he had a go at me for the first time and last year was the first time I naturally slept for the first time since then.”
And these accusations came just a week after Babcock’s questionable coaching methods when he coached Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs during the 2017 season.
Per the report, Babcock asked Marner to rank his teammates from hardest-woring to least hardest-working and then he shared the list with the team.
Following the accusations, Babcock confirmed that he wanted to “focus on work ethic with Mitch” with the list, and it backfired.
“He’s a terrible man, the worst person I’ve ever met,” said Franzen. “A bully who had a go at people, it could be the cleaners in the Detroit area or anyone. He jumped on people just because.”
The Babcock accusations came after Akim Aliu accused Peters of racially abusing him. Peters called Aliu the n-word when Aliu was playing rap music in the Rockford IceHogs’ locker room.
Two of his former Rockford teammates, Simon Pepin and Peter MacArthur independently corroborated on Aliu’s account, and team captain Jake Dowell had the courage to confront Peters about the incident. But when Peters called Aliu into his office, Peters did NOT apologize, again showing his displeasure for Aliu’s music choice.
This was the moment that Aliu’s NHL career was ruined before it even started.
“Look at the numbers,” said Aliu. “I was on pace for 20 goals in my first pro season and I wasn’t getting any power play or penalty kill time. Zero special teams. I feel like this ruined my career before it started. I don’t think that can be disputed. Then you get sent down to the ECHL, then traded to another organization and it’s an uphill climb from there.”
And that’s not all. People were even branding him a team cancer dating back to when he refused to participate in a hazing ritual with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires that would have forced him and other rookies to stand naked in a bus washroom.
The Aliu story even sparked tweets from former Hurricanes defenseman Michal Jordan, who alleged that Peters kicked him and punched another player in the head during a game. Both times, Peters then pretended that nothing happened.
And shortly after Aliu’s revelations, the NHL created a hotline through which players can report abusive behavior with anonymity protected.
But does an NHL hotline really constitute a third party, though? When the league running the hotline is the same league letting Quenneville coach for the first seven games of the Panthers’ season, there is still a conflict of interest at play.
An NHL hotline does not undo what happened to Aliu or Beach. So, it’s fair to question on if we can rely on the NHL to meaningfully change how they really support racial abuse victims or sexual assault victims or any other form of abuse, going forward.
The sport has had a history of failing its players and needs to earn our trust back. As Beach and former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy implemented, an independent third-party support system may be the best way to help future victims or prevent any crimes from happening.
The book “Game Misconduct: Hockey’s Toxic Culture and How to Fix It” by Evan Moore and Jashvina Shah takes an uncomfortable and even triggering look at how the physically demanding, often violent, high-skill sport shows and what is considered a toxic culture of racism, misogyny, ableism and anti-LGBTQ thoughts in a lot of hockey played in every level, whether it be high school, college, juniors, minor leagues, and the NHL.
Hockey is the 5th-most popular sport in the United States, behind football, baseball, basketball, and soccer. But the sport is no small time or financial commitment. The sport requires a large playing space. Youth and adult leagues may only get practice and game time in the late-night hours, or drive hours to a rink.
On average, a family living in the United States spends $693 per child in one sport in 2019. If it’s ice hockey, that average goes up to $2,583 annually, including approximately $389 for equipment, per Statista.
Young players playing college or professional hockey playing in the rising ranks of juniors leave home to billet with a host family, attend school there, and play as a local team. As with the rest of professional sports, only an elite few make it to the NHL or play overseas, even though anywhere there are ice rinks, so-called beer leagues allow for recreational hockey as a pastime for those who just love to lace up the skates.
But for those who truly care about the longevity of the sport, it’s the social cost of the game’s historically narrow-minded, team-over-individual responses to adversity when it truly matters.
Moore and Shah criticized hockey for a history of cultural and social gaffes that they say only hurt the sport. They suggested ways to improve the sport, one that is meaningful to both of them.
Their book shows reasons why hockey stands out this way, including complex organizational and disciplinary tiers, billeting away from home, even fighting an on-ice enforcement as entertainment.
“Hockey players are viewed as wholesome types—the kid next door who made good,” said Moore. “In one of our initial conversations with our publisher, Triumph Books, one of the employees said how he works with hockey players all the time, saying they are ‘down to Earth.’ I said, ‘See, that’s one of the talking points of the book: Why do we—society—automatically view these guys as such?’ There’s a level of elitism here.”
“I’m not sure about the origins of what could have caused this culture to be created, but it probably has something to do with the fact that professionally, hockey was so small when it started,” said Shah. “The nature of squashing individuality makes it really hard to attract new fans or players, because especially if you aren’t a cis, straight, white man, you have to separate part of yourself in order to be accepted in a group. Why would you do that if it harms you and makes you unhappy? Media—especially TV analysts—reiterates and reinforces the same concepts of team-first that hockey teams use.”
Take for example: PK Subban, a Black man, who is called out when he is a high-energy player, is labeled as “bigger than the team,” a label that white players are not usually given.
While microaggressions can break down players, Moore and Shah list more examples of racism in the sport of hockey, such as blackface in the crowd during recent NHL seasons.
“Racism is everywhere. It’s in every vocation known to man: Education, feminism, academia, government, journalism, etc.,” said Moore. “Despite that, people show up, and they are dedicated in showing hockey isn’t just for white people. It all means that the sport’s gatekeepers aren’t ready for an uncomfortable conversation about things they’re comfortable about.
“In the book, we spoke with a man whose brother was taken out of youth hockey due to racism from opponents and parents. This man says some kids up north would’ve given hockey a try if the sport hadn’t pushed them out, forcing them to turn to basketball. Look at the number of Canadians who’ve turned up in the NBA. I can make a strong case that hockey elitism plays a part in that.”
Asked on if the NHL gave them indication on the realization that the league has a bias and equality problem, Moore answered:
“The fact that the NHL created a diversity task force in the mid-1990s goes to show us hockey has a long way to go, since there are ongoing issues. When most professional sports leagues recognized George Floyd’s tragic death in some form, the NHL’s initial response left much to be desired. Remember, Floyd’s death took place in Minnesota—the ‘State of Hockey.’ I think the NHL wants to do more than performative gestures. But they don’t want to upset their white fanbase, and some of those folks want nothing to do with social justice. Some white people have gravitated toward hockey over time due to the overwhelming amount of Blackness in the NBA and NFL.”
Asked on what it’s like being a woman around the sport of hockey, and if she had any labelling as a “bad feminist” or something cutting her down simply because she is a woman around a sport that has the label of being “misogynistic,” Shah answered:
“I don’t know that I take heat personally, but I will say people are more likely—in my experience—to be more outwardly sexist that they will be outwardly racist, at least from a reporter’s perspective. That’s not to say there is less racism, just that people seem to hide it more. I’m lucky that college hockey is pretty small so I don’t—well, I don’t know if anyone doesn’t take my work seriously because I’m a woman. I suspect the people who don’t take my work seriously do so because I’m a brown woman, but I’ll also probably never know.”
Asked on if they have seen positive developments in opening the sport to a broader audience, and if race, gender, and economic inequity play a role in the youth and park league level, both answered:
“Hockey from the top down, whether you play for competition or fun in a beer league, is expensive,” said Moore. “Hockey plays up the aspect of parents making sacrifices when their sons make the NHL. In terms of changes, I think making the sport more accessible in terms of location and capital would do wonders in terms of engagement. We need to remove the ‘merit badge’ aspect of hockey. Making the sport unattainable is not a cause for celebration.”
“What leaves me most hopeful is the amount of people we had multi-hour conversations with while reporting and interviewing for this book,” said Shah. “It’s proof that there are people who care about making hockey better and that there are people out there who feel the same way we do, and just don’t have anyone to talk about it with.”
With everything happening around the NHL, it’s very damning about the culture surrounding the sport, and their many issues, whether it be the concussion denials, the hidden prescription drug use, the quietly tolerated racism, the secret hazing rituals, or even as far as Aldrich’s sexual assault. It is all a product of a governing ideology in hockey where its heart is exactly at the assumption Bettman laid bare: Silence can only mean the “right” things are going on.
What do you get in a league, let a lone a sport, that supports this ideology? More Johan Franzens, Akim Alius, Michal Jordans, Steve Montadors and Kyle Beaches.
Ever since Beach spoke publicly to TSN, there were calls for change, even for Bettman’s resignation. It appears on his part, Bettman thinks change has already come, to the league, and, perhaps, him.
The truth is it hasn’t. Some things, and some people, never change.
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