Laurel Walzack says that while the recent news of sexual abuse in Canadian hockey was disturbing, she wasn’t at all surprised.
And Walzak warned that this is just the beginning.
“It’s not even the tip of the iceberg right now,” Walzak told The Canadian Press in a phone interview. “I am so grateful. But I’m also afraid. It’s just so pervasive.”
Walczak was one of 28 Canadian experts from 21 universities who signed an open letter to Sport Minister Pascal St-Onge and Hedy Fry, chair of the Heritage Committee, ahead of the start of a parliamentary hearing as part of an inquiry into Hockey Canada’s treatment of sexual assault charges.
The letter emphasizes that Canada can become a global leader in developing solutions. But Walzak said that would require an overhaul of the governance of hockey and other sports, and men should lead the charge.
“The organization, the leadership, the board, the governance has to be held accountable for this,” said Walczak, professor of sports media and sports business at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Global Experiential Sport Lab.
“And the men in hockey management have to drive the change because it’s controlled and managed by men in management.” They are the keepers, they are the power, they are the insiders. And it’s not just here in Canada, it goes all over the world, it goes to the IOC [International Olympic Committee]it goes to the International Ice Hockey Federation, it goes to the grassroots of the local Toronto Hockey Club.”
WATCH | Commission hears Sport Canada knew about alleged assault 4 years ago:
Sport Canada was aware of Hockey Canada’s allegations as early as 2018
Sport Canada, a federal department, was aware in 2018 of allegations of sexual misconduct at Hockey Canada but did not investigate, an official told a House of Commons committee. Meanwhile, the federal sports minister testified that she was not informed until last year.
Walzak surprised by Canadian hockey money
The letter comes in criticism of Hockey Canada after news broke of members of the 2018 world junior team accused of gang sexual assault following a gala event in London, Ontario. Police have not laid charges, but the woman at the center of the allegations is suing Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and several players this spring.
Hockey Canada settled the case for an undisclosed amount and committee members are now investigating how it handled the allegations and the lawsuit. Hockey Canada executives and others appeared before the House of Commons heritage committee on Wednesday.
Another allegation of sexual abuse against the 2003 world junior team emerged last week.
It was revealed that Hockey Canada maintains a fund used in part to settle abuse claims, with $7.6 million paid out in nine settlements since 1989. The figure does not include the undisclosed settlement amount from the lawsuit related to the alleged 2018 incident.
“I wasn’t surprised at all [by the news of assaults]” Walzak said. “What I was surprised by was the amount of money Canadian hockey has. This sounds really naive to say, but when I was in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League [Walzak was the chair of the women’s league’s board]when we had financial problems, we went to Hockey Canada to ask for money.
“They gave us a small loan and we had to pay it back. It wasn’t even $100,000. It was hardly a thing. And it was so hard… I felt like I was actually on my knees begging for it. That’s how I was made to feel.”
“We absolutely have to be extremely honest”
Sexual violence in sports is not unique to Canada, Walzak pointed out. She said the problem was too big to be resolved through individual cultural reviews or investigations conducted by each sport. And allowing people to stay without being held accountable is like rearranging deckchairs on a sinking ship.
“We absolutely have to be blatantly honest in these conversations … All these aggressive, physically dominant, heterosexual, white … the world of hockey needs to change, and if we don’t do it with blatant honesty and actually looking at ugly truths, then nothing it’s not going to change,” she said.
“We have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable because people are being abused. They are sexually assaulted. They are destroyed. And these are children, these are young women, these are adults. And there are hundreds of thousands of people who exist in the Hockey Canada system.”
WATCH | Sports minister expresses concerns about Hockey Canada’s leadership on CBC’s Power & Politics:
Sports minister says Canadian hockey culture needs to change
Sports Minister Pascal Saint-Onge says she has asked the organization to report any allegations of abuse to her office and wants to see a change in culture from the organization.
The open letter says there appears to be little awareness in Canada of three scientific “consensus statements” by the International Olympic Committee in 2007, 2016 and ’19 that warned sports organizations, including Canadian hockey, that sexual harassment and abuse occur in all sports and at all levels”[in] the locker room, the playing field, travel, the coach’s home or car, and social events, especially when alcohol is involved.
“Team initiations or end-of-season celebrations may also involve the sexual abuse of individuals or groups,” the statements continued.
The consensus statements call for action, including independent regulation of sport at local, provincial and national levels, openness and transparency in reporting incidents, and investment in developing approaches to address and change sexual violence.
“The recent allegations of sexual assault against women involving Canadian hockey players are deeply disturbing,” said Taylor McKee, who studies hockey and sports culture at Brock University. “While these types of incidents are surprising and shocking to the public, academics and journalists have repeatedly documented these problems in hockey, and we’ve been calling for action for decades.”
The gymnasts are calling for an independent investigation
McKee helped organize the letter because he felt men needed to start “stepping up” to help fix the culture in the sport.
“Sexual violence in hockey has been documented in numerous studies over the past two decades, but Hockey Canada and the Canadian government have failed to act to prevent these problems,” McKee said. “Hopefully that will now change.” We need strong leadership from the Canadian government and investment in developing evidence-based methods to correct the cultural drivers of these problems.”
Hockey Canada’s federal funding has been cut and corporate sponsors are suspending financial support as a result of the alleged assault and collusion.
More than 500 Canadian gymnasts – Gymnasts for Change – have asked St-Onge for an independent investigation into their sport amid what they say is a toxic culture of physical, mental and sexual abuse. And former gymnast Amelia Klein filed a class-action lawsuit in May against Gymnastics Canada and six provincial member organizations for alleged abuse. The class has over 100 members.
Gymnasts for Change are in Ottawa for the Legacy Committee meetings.
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