Canada's 2003 world hockey junior team also accused of group sexual assault

[Nihiliste]

It's time to stop the glorifying of young athletes from childhood onwards, because in time that is what leads to these kinds of happenings. These boys are told and taught from an early age that their destiny is becoming great and as a consequence they believe their own hype thinking they are free to do what they want, and treat others like shit.

It happens in all sports but the "boys will be boys" has got to go and it has got to go from junior teams, peewee teams, and national teams all the same.

Rafa Nadal in tennis always talks about how when he was growing up, his uncle who was also his coach would always drill into him the idea that he’s not special just because he’s good at a game where he hits a ball back and forth over the net.

These WJC players behave like scum and I 100% blame them and no one else but it’s hard to be surprised when you elevate a bunch of teenagers to temporarily feeling like some of the biggest celebrities in the country

 

[Lays]

Funny enough, a couple years back, hockey was considered the game with less scandal of the top 4 league in North America. Little did we know...

Still is

 

[lettuceAA]

Rafa Nadal in tennis always talks about how when he was growing up, his uncle who was also his coach would always drill into him the idea that he’s not special just because he’s good at a game where he hits a ball back and forth over the net.

These WJC players behave like scum and I 100% blame them and no one else but it’s hard to be surprised when you elevate a bunch of teenagers to temporarily feeling like some of the biggest celebrities in the country

I've always felt the WJC grew way too large and Canadians/media put too much pressure and glorified these amateur teenage kids. It became so commercialized and grew so big I don't think the kids and Hockey Canada were/are prepared for it, I miss the days of it being played in small rinks with a few fans not primetime in NHL rinks.

That being said it's inexcusable and absolutely disgusting what these teams are being accused of. There is an element of hockey culture that is toxic and these kids probably shouldn't be sent off on their own at 16 years of age with no real authority and given local celebrity status. The party/alcohol drinking culture in Jr hockey and Canada in general is not good. It's sad that it is so common for a teenage girl can binge drink so much she becomes unresponsive and infuriating and disgusting that people would take advantage of that.

Yes there is obviously a major problem with Canadian hockey culture, but there is also drinking/party culture in Canada that never gets talked about. I think most Canadians grew up with it being far to common for themselves or friends getting blackout drunk atleast once or a few times in their youth. Drinking culture is bad in Canada and is something I hope changes when my kids get older.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Still is

Not now.

Deshaun hasn't played in a year so don't bring that up.

 

[Warden of the North]

The culture in Canada that treated these kids like GODS during the WJC is now reaping that repugnent harvest.

I became very disillusioned with this tournament shortly after the 2003 WJC because of the complete obsession people had with it and the hero worship that accompanied it. I literally had a middle aged guy tell me I was a bad Canadian because I wasn't obsessively cheering this team on.....while I was grocery shopping.

Canada has put elite minor hockey players on pedestals for too long. It's time to stop. Volunteering at a grocery store bagging groceries and wearing a suit to a game, which we're constantly told "makes good men out of these boys" has long been seen as bullshit in my eyes and that's becoming clearer to a lot of other people now.

 

[ohcomeonref]

Can criminal charges be brought or has too much time passed? Not sure if Canada has limitations on this kind of thing.

 

[KingAlfie11]

That's what happens when you have a culture that glorifies teenage boys, they think that they can do whatever they want and the worst part is that adults knew what was going on and did nothing! And yes some blame needs to go to the parents of those young men, but are any of you really surprise that those kind of things happened? We're all to blame as a society for glorifying teenage boys, and its the same damn thing in the states with football players or basketball players, and Texas high school football is more popular then the NFL. so this not just a Canadian thing, its a society thing. We all need to take a good hard look at ourselves in the mirror here. Let's hope we can turn something ugly in something positive and change the way we do business.

 

[Ezekial]

I don't think it's necessarily a hockey culture thing moreso an enabling teenage athletes thing. Teenagers are dumb and short sighted and when people put them on a pedestal without keeping them grounded they can do some pretty terrible things.
I never sexually assaulted anyone or anything physically harmful to other people but I took part in vandalism and general being a total asshole to some of my peers in my teenage days that I regret and wish I had the foresight to see how it can affect people.

 

[Caje]

Can criminal charges be brought or has too much time passed? Not sure if Canada has limitations on this kind of thing.

Yes, they can still be charged as there is no statute of limitations on sexual assaults in Canada.

 

[TooManyHumans]

Yes, they can still be charged as there is no statute of limitations on sexual assaults in Canada.

Good. Late is better than never.

 

[dragonballgtz]

Jeebus... makes you wonder how many more are not even known

 

[Apex Predator]

 

[I am toxic]

I can't remember . . . where I've heard that before.

 

[MXD]

Yes, they can still be charged as there is no statute of limitations on sexual assaults in Canada.

Actually, there no statute on limitations for any Criminal Code infraction. There's no special regime for sexual assaults.

 

[Mikeaveli]

How are they going to gather evidence of something that supposedly happened 20 years ago?

 

[Advanced stats]

Not now.

Deshaun hasn't played in a year so don't bring that up.

NFL has had 17 players arrested in 2022.

17.

2021 is even worse.

 

[JianYang]

People saying there is a problem with hockey culture are not casting aspersions on the millions of people who play hockey without sexually assaulting people. They are primarily pointing out two very real problems within hockey culture:
1. Many hockey players, from a young age, seem to feel that they are entitled to certain things and are above having to face real world consequences for their actions.
2. Powerful bodies, entities, organizations have made it the status quo to shield these athletes because they are highly skilled at hockey - hence verifying why these youths feel entitled as they do (see point one).

There is a cultural problem within the Catholic church. The church has, for decades, covered up sexual abuses and moved the offending individuals to unknowing communities where they can abuse again. Does my saying this imply that I am out to get the thousands of good and selfless priests out there, or am I simply saying that something within the organization is rotten and needs to be fixed?

Open your eyes and try using a little common sense.

I wonder about these hazing practices as well where the players themselves would be sexually violated.

That could also warp a teenager's outlook on sex.

It is only in recent times that the hazing practices have been coming to light, at least in the mainstream, and I suspect they are still very active today with respect to crossing the line.

 

[Ncit3]

People saying there is a problem with hockey culture are not casting aspersions on the millions of people who play hockey without sexually assaulting people. They are primarily pointing out two very real problems within hockey culture:
1. Many hockey players, from a young age, seem to feel that they are entitled to certain things and are above having to face real world consequences for their actions.
2. Powerful bodies, entities, organizations have made it the status quo to shield these athletes because they are highly skilled at hockey - hence verifying why these youths feel entitled as they do (see point one).

There is a cultural problem within the Catholic church. The church has, for decades, covered up sexual abuses and moved the offending individuals to unknowing communities where they can abuse again. Does my saying this imply that I am out to get the thousands of good and selfless priests out there, or am I simply saying that something within the organization is rotten and needs to be fixed?

Open your eyes and try using a little common sense.

The reason we hear about this in hockey quite a lot is the privileged status of many young hockey players as well. Hockey is more expensive than other sports. These young men are part of well-to-do families with a certain status. And when they are given everything they could want from an early age. When their parents, families, coaches, teachers, et al, place them on a pedestal — they begin to believe it. They are above the law, they are more important, their needs and wants come before anyone else. So you get guys that think that it's okay to force themselves on another human being because they are more important than them and that their needs are ultimately what matters.

And, yes, we see this in other sports as well. DeShaun Watson is an example of someone like this and usually it happens with guys who are seen as top prospects or stars in these leagues. But it seems to be much more pervasive within the hockey world because every one of these guys that makes a level of being an NHL prospect has been given everything their entire life.

I hope each and every guy that has been involved in situations like 2003 and 2017 will have book thrown at them. We only make change if we harshly discipline people for their crimes.

 

[Machinehead]

Personally. I don’t like sitting on a locker room bench while the guy next to me is standing up and changing is jock strap. There his definitely some shared psychology going on that get this many guys involved in a lamb roast. I’m sure there are tones of times team Canada players have successfully executed a 2 on 1 that stayed private and no one felt bad about the next day.

The psychology that makes young men gang rape is what I’m interested in. In general I don’t these kids are bad people. But, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, there’s clearly something in that hockey culture that is making this seem normal to their brains.

I think hockey has a much stronger "pay your dues" culture than other sports. Every time you move to another level, you're lucky to be there, or at least that's how it's treated. Hazing seems to be more brutal and more prevalent in hockey. The coaches, captains, and veterans walk on water because they "paid their dues." If your coach/captain/veteran is a scumbag, you have to participate in their scumbag behavior or you're not one of the boys. Speak up, and the powers that be take their side because they paid their dues.

Young men are so desperate to have a chance to make it to the Show, especially in Canada. They're not going to throw it away because Captain Jackass said "hey we're going to do such and such" and they refused.

 

[Zippity]

How are they going to gather evidence of something that supposedly happened 20 years ago?

A video of a girl unconscious on top of pool table and several players taking turns, and maybe some spectators memories will be refreshed

How are they going to gather evidence of something that supposedly happened 20 years ago?

A video of a girl unconscious on top of pool table and several players taking turns, and maybe some spectators memories will be refreshed.

 

[Leafsfan74]

People saying there is a problem with hockey culture are not casting aspersions on the millions of people who play hockey without sexually assaulting people. They are primarily pointing out two very real problems within hockey culture:
1. Many hockey players, from a young age, seem to feel that they are entitled to certain things and are above having to face real world consequences for their actions.
2. Powerful bodies, entities, organizations have made it the status quo to shield these athletes because they are highly skilled at hockey - hence verifying why these youths feel entitled as they do (see point one).

There is a cultural problem within the Catholic church. The church has, for decades, covered up sexual abuses and moved the offending individuals to unknowing communities where they can abuse again. Does my saying this imply that I am out to get the thousands of good and selfless priests out there, or am I simply saying that something within the organization is rotten and needs to be fixed?

Open your eyes and try using a little common sense.

It's a.major problem in Canada and sadly it goes well beyond hockey. Hockey is just our identity which in itself is not adventageous in the competitve global economy we live in but I digress.

You can be certain that there are countless Whistleblowers in Canada that involve nefarious abuses by police agencies, politicians, teachers and other occupations in positions of power.

As Canada has the most concentrated media ownership in the G20, it is easy to bury a story. This is regularly done and approved of by the same people who publicly speak about Human Rights and accountabily. We will apologize for abuses from decades ago so as to feel self righteous but it's really to avoid dealing with the abuses of TODAY. HC is probably no different.

Speak to an informed lawyer in Canada and they will tell you that the Charter of Rights is "great in theory", take it from me...

 

[Mikeaveli]

A video of a girl unconscious on top of pool table and several players taking turns, and maybe some spectators memories will be refreshed


A video of a girl unconscious on top of pool table and several players taking turns, and maybe some spectators memories will be refreshed.

Maybe I should have read the article first before posting!

 

[Uncle Rotter]

A video of a girl unconscious on top of pool table and several players taking turns, and maybe some spectators memories will be refreshed


A video of a girl unconscious on top of pool table and several players taking turns, and maybe some spectators memories will be refreshed.

A video which may no longer exist.

 

[PostBradMalone]

I think hockey has a much stronger "pay your dues" culture than other sports. Every time you move to another level, you're lucky to be there, or at least that's how it's treated. Hazing seems to be more brutal and more prevalent in hockey. The coaches, captains, and veterans walk on water because they "paid their dues." If your coach/captain/veteran is a scumbag, you have to participate in their scumbag behavior or you're not one of the boys. Speak up, and the powers that be take their side because they paid their dues.

Young men are so desperate to have a chance to make it to the Show, especially in Canada. They're not going to throw it away because Captain Jackass said "hey we're going to do such and such" and they refused.

The prestige dynamic mentioned earlier also plays a significant role. Even in a small prairie town whose highest level of hockey is AAA, there's a worship culture that evolves around the team and subsequently the individuals. They are essentially celebrities. With prestige though comes power, and teenaged boys are probably the worst group on earth to give any outsized influence to.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

Really wish the mods would take out some of the trash posters who expose themselves in these types of threads.