Hockey parents need to reckon with culture that shields players from consequences, prof says
Change can come from the top, but also from the bottom up, Jonathon Edwards says
Until hockey parents and people involved in the sport challenge the culture, the new Hockey Canada board will likely make the same mistakes as the old one, according to a professor who studies sports management.
Kinesiology professor Jonathon Edwards said he has some hope for the future of Hockey Canada following Tuesday's resignations of the CEO and board of directors.
But he's still worried the new board could end up being a copy of the old one, especially if people don't reckon with why change came so slowly after group sexual assault allegations and millions of dollars in payouts to people with sexual misconduct claims.
"It has to start with parents, first and foremost, and that kind of elite mentality. That has to all change," he told Information Morning Fredericton.
"It has to change coaches' perceptions on how they coach the game and how these … competitive athletes are coached and what their mentality is."
All of Hockey Canada's top leadership is stepping down after public outcry and a sponsor mass exodus over the organization's apparent culture of enabling and tolerating sexual misconduct.
It has been challenged over how it handled an alleged group sexual assault involving members of the 2018 men's national junior team. Executives also revealed the organization had paid $8.9 million in settlements to 21 sexual assault complainants since 1989, using a reserve fund.
"Why did it take so long?" Edwards said of leaders stepping down. "To me it sends out a signal that they don't think that they were in the wrong, that they don't think that this was an actual issue.
"They came up with excuses," he said. "But if you knew you were wrong, or you were caught being wrong, you would have made changes."
He said there would be repercussions for players who've been involved in sexual assaults.
"Go back and think, and talk to those individuals that were harmed," he said. "I think that right now people are getting away with it and and I think that can't continue on."
On Friday, Canada's Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge said the resignation of the board chair "must now be followed by a process of meaningful change in Hockey Canada's values and culture."
She said the new leadership should "put in place the training and support that players require, and create an environment free of sexual violence, maltreatment and discrimination."
Directors chosen differently
Directors are usually elected by their peers from Hockey Canada's 13 member branches. One is usually chosen from the Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, three from Ontario, and one in every other province.
This time, an open call for nominations has been issued and a new slate is expected to be voted in by Dec. 17.
Edwards said he thinks there are a lot of good candidates out there and he expects many people will put their names forward by the Oct. 28 deadline.
He said he hopes to see some board members from outside the hockey sphere, people who haven't been brought up with "institutional norms."
"I hope there's a balance to to be honest because you do need some of those people with the expertise of, you know, how hockey is delivered in Canada and and mandates and things like that," he said.
"But to bring someone in that is outside the hockey world, [who is from] a different sport, has encountered different situations, just brings new life."
Edwards said what's happening at Hockey Canada is part of a trend in many sports, and the world is watching.
"A lot of sport organizations are watching to see what Canada does, and what they implement in terms of some sort of mechanism to change that culture, change that belief," he said.
With files from Information Morning Fredericton