My most sincere wish is that the various investigations and inquiries into this entire situation completely clear all the players of the alleged sexual assaults.
But if wishes were rainbows, right? Not pre-judging, but history does not suggest that a promising outcome is in the offing.
About a decade or so ago, I listened to former Hockey Canada boss, Bob Nicholson, speak about how there was “compelling academic research” indicating that hockey players were more civic minded, law-abiding and overall solid members of society than non-hockey players. Several people in the room, including me, pressed him to direct us to any of this “compelling academic research” so we might read it. Nic said something along the lines of “oh, it’s out there, trust me,” and that was that. I’m still looking for it.
I’m not aware of any governing body for amateur sport in Canada that does not claim to produce people of high character, individuals who received “life lessons” through the sport that benefited society. Hockey Canada and its forerunner, the CAHA, always championed this philosophy and sometimes I get the sense that even today they value it above all else and will do nearly anything to preserve it as a core piece of their heritage brand. Frankly, I’ve always believed in “sport for sport’s sake” and that most games unmask true personal character rather than develop it, and I’m fine with that. Sport needn’t be magic to be important.
Anyway, exactly how Hockey Canada responds to the federal government in this case is something I’ll be watching closely, mostly because I am interested to see if the organization displays the high character they claim the sport develops or if they choose another route. Given that they hired the Toronto law firm Henein Hutchison LLP — which defended David Frost and then a string of very bad people — I’m not hopeful.
www.tsn.ca
