Steven Ellis/The Hockey News
Hockey Canada reported greater than 900 instances of discrimination in its sanctioned leagues, alarming however not shocking specialists and advocates.
Hockey Canada launched nationwide information for “all incidents of verbal taunts, insults or intimidation based on discriminatory grounds” through the 2021-22 season.
The report, printed on Hockey Canada’s web site, checked out witnessed and alleged incidents of racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and discrimination based mostly on different restricted grounds.
The outcomes present 512 penalties assessed by officers below Hockey Canada’s Rule 11.4 associated to discrimination and one other 415 reported allegations of discrimination.
Hockey Canada’s sanctioned leagues embrace youth hockey, ladies’s hockey, seniors’ hockey and junior leagues.
The report highlights what many already knew – that hockey has systemic points and motion is required to drive change, in accordance to MacIntosh Ross, an assistant professor at Western University.
“I think it simply underscores how incredibly important it is to push for change in the sport,” Ross mentioned in a message. “At the moment, hockey isn’t ‘for everyone.’ It’s a bastion of intolerance. I’m hoping this report helps people come to terms with that and commit themselves to efforts toward inclusion.”
Hockey Canada reported 61 % of the witnessed and penalized acts focused sexual orientation and gender identification. Forty % of the reported incidents requiring investigation have been additionally related to gender and sexuality.
The outcomes have been disheartening however not surprising to Brock McGillis, hockey’s main advocate and educator associated to LGBTQ+ points and inclusion.
“I’m not surprised that over 60 percent were toward sexuality or gender identity,” McGillis mentioned.
“I’m surprised there weren’t more incidents, but ultimately, there are more.”
“There’s a whole section of folks who don’t get caught saying it and also players who don’t report it. There is also a level of protection given to some players out of fear it might impact their career if they’re elite players, and of course, this doesn’t take into account all of the language used in terms of locker room culture and team group chats that is likely more extreme than what is being said on the ice.”
Aidan Cleary, the founding father of Team Trans, referred to as the variety of reported intercourse and gender-based slurs “horrifying” and “heartbreaking” saying the findings “exemplify a crisis of misogyny and violence in the hockey community.”
Of the penalized points, 18 % have been deemed racist, whereas 47 % of the reported allegations have been associated to race.
The report follows Hockey Canada’s Action Plan and Thomas Cromwell’s evaluation on governance amidst the continuing scandals associated to sexual assault and poisonous habits in hockey.
While the report acknowledges “the inherent importance of data collection in this area,” some points within the software of Hockey Canada’s anti-discrimination Rule 11.4 have been additionally famous. “There were inconsistencies in the rule application at times,” the report mentioned.
Dr. Courtney Szto, an assistant professor at Queen’s University who penned a coverage paper on anti-racism in hockey, echoed the significance of this information but in addition questioned the mechanisms to take care of allegations not witnessed by an official.
“It is ultimately an imperfect system,” Szto mentioned in a message.
The “baseline data is really important because it legitimizes all of the anecdotal evidence that is often dismissed under the ‘few bad apples’ theory,” Szto added. “These numbers show a pattern of problematic behaviors across the country in boys’ hockey.”
The report acknowledged Szto’s portrayal of the problems being primarily in males’s hockey. It confirmed that males and boys perpetrated 99 % of the discriminatory acts witnessed by officers.
Cleary echoed the significance of Hockey Canada aiming to handle points within the sport associated to masculinity and misogyny.
“It’s so simple and beneficial for all of us to invest in developing good men, but Hockey Canada needs to put itself fully behind that mission to eradicate the epidemic of misogyny currently present in its ranks,” Cleary mentioned in a message.
“The good news is that we can fix this problem if our leadership and our community dedicate itself to making changes,” Cleary added. “In order to stamp out the rampant misogyny and the resulting homo/transphobia in our community, we need to invest in developing players’ identities and their relationship to masculinity.”
While this was the primary report of its type from Hockey Canada, the group says it won’t be the final.
“Hockey Canada commits to continuing to make national reports on maltreatment publicly available and accessible on an annual basis as part of its overall sport safety framework,” it mentioned.
Hockey Canada is ready to elect a brand new board of administrators later this month.
Experts React to Hockey Canada’s On-Ice Discrimination
Experts React to Hockey Canada’s On-Ice Discrimination
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Experts React to Hockey Canada’s On-Ice Discrimination