IIFH has known about this for at least two months.
They deliberately made the announcement on a Friday afternoon knowing that is where announcements go to be buried.
Where is the announcement regarding the 2003 team, into which a police investigation has been launched in Halifax?
They indicate they will be conducting the investigation of the 2018 matter using the
IIHF Abuse and Harassment Code, which completely lacks transparency (just take a look at section 4.4.1 and explain to me how we could reasonably expect to learn anything from the IIHF without the most intense public pressure, government pressure and sponsor pressure), and was designed primarily to go after abusers, not institutionalized protection of abuse.
Sure, there is likely a prima facie case that there was a "violation" as per section 3.1 (d)
"Sexual harassment – means any unwanted and unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal or physical. Sexual harassment can take the form of sexual abuse" based on the text messages alone, without even getting into the specifics of sections 3.1 (a) and (e) relating to issues of confinement and sexual abuse. In that case it is clear that Hockey Canada would be committed a "violation" themselves as per section 6 (g)
Complicity, i.e. authorizing, knowingly assisting, causing, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering up or any other type of intentional complicity causing a violation of this Code; and quite possible 6 (h) as well.
All this has been known for two months. That it took the IIHF this much bad publicity and the official opposition and many many others calling for the removal of the leadership of Hockey Canada shows how little that hockey people can be trusted to investigate hockey people. Did I say
little? Wow, talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. I meant to write
so microsopically miniscule that one would need an electron microscope to detect it.
Remember the allegations of a videotape of gang rape involving the 2003 team? Where it was reported the people didn't come forward for almost two decades, that the copy of the alleged tape was destroyed? Does that look like it would fit the criteria mentioned above? Ya think? And yet nothing but silence from the IIHF.
The leadership at IIHF appears to be no different than the leadership at Hockey Canada - code of silence, do the barest of minimum when the spotlight is shone on their abhorrent behaviour, and hope the problem goes away the next news cycle.
No wonder we have a culture problem in hockey with its toxic code of silence, enabling, blacklisting, hazing, misogyny, racism, homophobia etc. decades after it should have been properly addressed.
And in the naked light, I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
