During the past six months, Canadians have been shocked to learn of sexual assault allegations at Hockey Canada events and how the organization treated the allegations as essentially a cost of doing business.
Funds supposedly allocated for player registrations were used to settle gang rape accusations. Hockey Canada officials claimed they had little or no knowledge of events.
Canadians have learned of many other problematic actions of the board of directors, from awarding themselves cash prizes whenever there was a major victory by a national team to owning a luxury condominium in Toronto for their use.
For decades Hockey Canada has been extraordinarily influential. This is not surprising given the passion with which many Canadians approach hockey, and its central role in the national psyche.
Arrogance of leadership
Most recently, the average Canadian was aghast by the hubris of the board of directors, and especially its chair, Andrea Skinner. When summoned to Ottawa to testify about her organization, she gave its senior executive a grade of A, and noted that lights might have gone out in rinks across Canada if the board of directors or senior leadership resigned.
The degree of arrogance and unwillingness to change united all political parties in Ottawa. The minister of sport has warned that Hockey Canada may self-destruct, while the prime minister has pointedly noted that Hockey Canada can be replaced.
Government funding for the organization has been frozen and there is no indication it will resume. Provincial premiers have added their voices for calls for change to the organization, and provincial hockey bodies have withdrawn their participation.
Tellingly, private sector corporations — long a source of significant revenue for Hockey Canada — have all halted their sponsorship, fearing their own brands would be tarnished. Canadian Tire has permanently severed all links with Hockey Canada.
Mass resignation
During the Thanksgiving weekend, Skinner resigned, followed by the mass resignation earlier this week of the entire board and Scott Smith, the chief executive officer.
But these steps, taken only after exceptional pressure from those outside Hockey Canada, may not be enough to save it. Without a doubt, Hockey Canada is now wounded without a clear path to healing.
The organization will be under the microscope for the foreseeable future. The federal government is conducting an audit, which may well turn up more problems.
Groups of hockey parents are likely to launch a class-action suit in relation to the fees they paid for their children being used in part as slush funds. Numerous police and other investigations are underway into sexual assault and gang rape allegations at Hockey Canada events.
A lack of accountability
There is every sense that more bad news is coming. The fees that Hockey Canada is paying to Navigator — a high-profile and expensive crisis management firm — are sure to raise eyebrows.
It’s remarkable how Hockey Canada has become cloistered, taking on characteristics of a cult or organized religion. With the game so important to many young players, families are extremely reluctant to challenge Hockey Canada’s leadership or approach to the game. Many families are afraid that doing so will result in repercussions that will hurt their children’s opportunities and advancement in the game.
To date, current and former players have been conspicuously silent on Hockey Canada. This may be from fear of injuring their standing in the hockey world or lucrative endorsement deals. If this is so, then it’s another very powerful reason to disband the organization.
No current player, former player, coach, parent or other stakeholder should be afraid to speak their mind or share past experiences. That it was reporters who uncovered much of the wrongdoing by Hockey Canada, and politicians and private companies that have demanded reform — not Hockey Canada stakeholders or insiders — is the most compelling reason to wind up the organization and start again.
Hockey Canada’s future?
Hockey Canada’s insular culture protected and sheltered wrongdoing and has allowed management, rather than parents and other stakeholders, to become powerful. This was the root cause of the crisis that has engulfed the organization.
Without reforming the power relationships within Hockey Canada, little will change. As such, Hockey Canada now finds itself playing in overtime where the smallest miscalculation results in a loss.
Hockey Canada is truly playing for its continued existence.