Hockey’s “MeToo” week, and how will it impact on all sports.

“Everything that hockey is about, as far as ‘what’s said in the room, stays in the room’, harbours a culture for abusers to live in.” says Carcillo.

Carcillo’s comments have had a domino effect.

Even Canada’s royal family of hockey, the Sutters, have been drawn into the fray at the NHL, and WHL levels.

While everything is still only allegations, it’s led to many questions about what goes on behind those closed doors, and the longtime, so-called ‘hockey culture’.

“Hopefully as a species we are evolving and becoming more aware of what used to be acceptable, makes no sense anymore”. says Shaun Clouston, the head coach of the Kamloops Blazers. “There’s a cultural awareness that these things aren’t really cool anymore. I can’t believe that we were okay with that stuff.”

It’s not just hockey.

Athletes in other sports are renewing a call for an independent national body to investigate complaints of harassment and abuse amid the reckoning in the NHL, and mounting complaints in university sports.

“Many of the national sport organizations are doing really good proactive work.” says Andrea Carey, the Sport for Life Society Director of Operations and Special Projects. “To try and figure out how they move inclusion both down the system all the way to the grassroots level, but also to look at how they can be more strategic going forward so that these types of instances don’t occur.”

AthletesCan, a group pushing for an independent national body to investigate sport, says that current model of self regulation isn’t working.

So where does it go from here?

Will this week be a watershed movement for change?

Or will it be swept under the carpet once the furor of the week has died down.

by Earl Seitz

Hockey’s “MeToo” week, and how will it impact on all sports.

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