Canadian Government Freezing Hockey Canada Funding- (2018 Canada World Jr Team Alleged Sexual Assault)

[Gil Gunderson]

I'm going to make a prediction that the five who have yet to say anything at all (Formenton, Batherson, Comtois, McLeod, and Howden) all drop their statements- be it "no comment"s or something a bit spicier AKA "They cooperated with the original investigation and were cleared of criminal wrongdoing"- late Friday, which is the end of the weekly news cycle and traditionally the best time to dump unfavorable press releases. The hope will be it's either forgotten over the weekend, or at the latest by the start of the Heritage Committee hearings on Tuesday.

Howden just dropped a statement saying he wasn’t involved today.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

IMO minor hockey players starting around 15-16 years old that are playing in Major Junior should be forced to complete mandatory courses that outline responsibilities, both moral and fiscal, that come with potential future lifestyles they're about to obtain.

So much of this comes from like-minded ignorance. Buying into culture because that's "how it is" and perpetuating cycles of abuse because nobody wants to miss out on life-changing money and fame.

This should be done annualy and likely should be done by NHL teams during yearly training camps.

Also, lets not absolve the parents of these young men; the sense of entitlement, special treatment, arrogance and absence of empathy isn't suddenly put on like a jersey once their gifts and talents bring them into the upper echelons of the Hockey Canada apparatus.

 

[4thline]

Kinda hard for London to justify not re-opening the investigation when the primary reason it was dropped was the victim retracting and the alleged perpetrator has since made it public record that they guilted/intimidated her into doing that.

 

[PostBradMalone]

Howden just dropped a statement saying he wasn’t involved today.

Didn't see that, thanks. Guess it's just the four then.

 

[red devil]

I'm going to make a prediction that the four who have yet to say anything at all (Formenton, Batherson, Comtois, and McLeod) all drop their statements- be it "no comment"s or something a bit spicier AKA "They cooperated with the original investigation and were cleared of criminal wrongdoing"- late Friday, which is the end of the weekly news cycle and traditionally the best time to dump unfavorable press releases. The hope will be it's either forgotten over the weekend, or at the latest by the start of the Heritage Committee hearings on Tuesday.

Here's Howden's statement

 

[All Mighty]

 

[Dirty Dog]

Didn't see that, thanks. Guess it's just the four then.

Should kinda be a lesson to you why you shouldn’t be making assumptions on those who didn’t release a statement yet (you are predicting they will intentionally release a statement at a certain time so it will be overshadowed)

Especially since one of the people you listed released a statement saying he had literally no interaction or involvement and is not one of the accused.

It kind of sucks that completely innocent people who have not been accused of wrongdoing have to release statements so people on the media and internet won’t start making assumptions about them. It is absolutely a small injustice relative to the accusations, but still.

We should all try and do better in this thread (your posts are great, not meaning to single you out)

Edit: two of the five released very good statements.

 

[Rob Brown]

Isn't he one of three players born in 1999, and it was rumoured that two were involved? And the other was Thomas?

So has every player (or lawyers) other than Formenton/Batherson said they weren't involved? Seems like everyone is just going to say they weren't there.

 

[Devils090]

How is this possible? Thought we had the 8.

Oh jeez idk maybe stop believing the outage Twitter mob

It’s the oppression Olympics and everyone is going for gold

 

[Quinton Byfield]

Hockey Canada could always be monetarily responsible for the actions of its players, as long as they have players. Just like the company you work for could be held monetarily responsible for your actions, depending on what you do and when and where you do it. There is no getting out of that. It's not something that can even be "considered".

I've already explained this to you. Hockey Canada is not vicariously liable for junior players under their programs, because junior players are NOT employed by HC, or their junior teams. If they aren't employees, they are not "monetarily responsible" for non-employee actions.

I don't know the specifics of the lawsuit, I can only surmise a guess that it is related to the fiduciary duty of HC as it happened at their event.

While I disagree with the premise that HC should be monetarily responsible for the non-work related actions of its employees, I'd be willing to consider this if all complaints were brought to law enforcement for serious investigation.

No organization is responsible for the non-work related actions of their employees. You don't get to sue a company because one of their employees raped someone. But if their status, for example, at a company led to creating the conditions that led to the assault, then it is an actionable tort.

None of it matters in this topic we're discussing. Junior hockey players are not employees. They get a stipend. If they were employees, they have to be under labour's laws, such as unions, minimum wage, etc.

If the both of you are going to be this active in this post, do everyone a favor and put in some research. Otherwise, y'all are spreading misinformation.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

Why? To put the victim through the wringer again in a whole new way? Make them relive the trauma they went through? Have a team of lawyers try to discredit them for months, all while incurring legal fees that could surpass the settlement amount?

In many cases, a settlement is the desired outcome for the victim. And based on the victims lawyer's statement after the settlement in this case, it was resolved in the way that she wanted it to be resolved.

Hockey Canada should be required to publicly disclose all settlements, and they should have a clear plan to try and prevent any sexual assault cases from occurring, but they shouldn't be forced to bring all cases to court.

The priority should be resolving cases in a way that limits the harm done to the victim, not worrying about the taxpayer.

Hockey Canada should take all necessary action to recover $ from the accused individuals. There has to be accountability here. How else can they prevent any sexual assault cases where they pick up the tab?

 

[Szechwan]

This should be done annualy and likely should be done by NHL teams during yearly training camps.

Also, lets not absolve the parents of these young men; the sense of entitlement, special treatment, arrogance and absence of empathy isn't suddenly put on like a jersey once their gifts and talents bring them into the upper echelons of the Hockey Canada apparatus.

I don't think this is an issue confined to the upper echelons of the sport. My town has a BCHL team and the players that went through there were absolute dogs. Minor hockey in it's entirety has a culture problem, even guys playing Jr. B are completely up their own ass.

 

[TheBeard]

Hence the repeated mantra that this is a hockey culture problem in that young men repeatedly feel they are entitled to have their way knowing full well the wealthy organization and people who enabled and protected them will continue to do so without any form of accountability or repercussions.
HC shields their stars creating a culture where this can and has continued to happen with impunity.

As I've stated many times, this isn't isolated to hockey or hockey canada. This is a societal problem especially as it pertains to sports. Unfortunately in my opinion this crap happens far more than any of us realize.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I’m surprised the mods are letting the internet sleuthing continue. Maybe you all should just wait regarding the names?

 

[Off Sides]

No. Much better.

They added more funds to the hush money account. What is at now, $15m? No salary cap for hush money.

I hope some of those questions are asked of them.

Using either public money, and/or registration fees derived largely from youth hockey to pay for sexual assault settlements seems like it should not be a thing.

Not that this, if true, should happen in the first place, yet if it does, or even if it has not and this is just a possible avenue to deal with it should it happen in the future, that seems like maybe the most slimy way possible to go about it.

 

[seventieslord]

What an ugly situation. There are many shades of grey in this situation but here is what is absolutely cut and dried: gentlemen do not engage in group sex with a drunk teenage girl regardless of what they think she’s willing to do or wants to do. A girls judgement is highly likely to be impaired and young men need to be smart enough and have the integrity to recognize that and back away instead of taking advantage or, worse yet, actively coercing the victim. I have a young daughter and I pray nothing like this ever happens to her.

I have some sympathy for Hockey Canada. If the police were brought in right away to investigate and all parties, including an apparent victim request, that an out of court settlement is the most appropriate and least harmful, they’d be thugs if they didn’t settle.

What a mess. Young men, take heed.

And if even Bud Bundy knows this....

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Not saying anyone is guilty, but staying silent and disabling your instagram comments right after players start denying involvement in droves is one hell of a look.

 

[Quinning]

Isn't he one of three players born in 1999, and it was rumoured that two were involved? And the other was Thomas?

So has every player (or lawyers) other than Formenton/Batherson said they weren't involved? Seems like everyone is just going to say they weren't there.

100% this is what's going to happen.

If you haven't said you weren't there now, the pool is shrinking. It's now a game of hot potato.

Wonder why everyone is suddenly coming out of the woodwork to make statements at once? It's a domino effect.

 

[Sun God Nika]

Not saying anyone is guilty, but staying silent and disabling your instagram comments right after players start denying involvement in droves is one hell of a look.

Bad take. The guy is being bullied in his comment section he doesn't have to put up with that.

 

[Deuce22]

When every player on the roster has issued a statement of denial, what are the internet detectives going to have left? A roster with every name crossed out.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

When every player on the roster has issued a statement of denial, what are the internet detectives going to have left? A roster with every name crossed out.

Then everyone becomes a suspect again cause someone's lying and we repeat the process

 

[Dicky113]

The ones I’m really suspicious of are the ones who’s agents have stated “they weren’t involved in any wrongdoing and are cooperating”. That is VERY different statement from the ones that are saying they weren’t involved in the incident. It’s exactly what I’d expect if the defense was “I was involved but it was consensual”.

Katchouk’s agent just said “he is cooperating and that’s all we’re going to say at this time.” How the hell is that being interpreted as anything other than an admission of involvement?

Read between the lines people

 

[PostBradMalone]

When every player on the roster has issued a statement of denial, what are the internet detectives going to have left? A roster with every name crossed out.

Not necessarily. A “no comment” is different from a “I/my client participated in the investigation and was cleared of wrongdoing” than a “I wasn’t there and didn’t see it”. Those are the three general kinds of statements we’ve seen so far, but only of them is a plain denial.

 

[Deuce22]

Then everyone becomes a suspect again cause someone's lying and we repeat the process

Wait. I have read on this thread and elsewhere that no one would release a statement unless it was the truth.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Bad take. The guy is being bullied in his comment section he doesn't have to put up with that.

There’s a much easier way for an innocent person to deal with that. All he did was raise suspicions even more.