Jack Todd: Hockey Canada should publicly address issues in sexual assault case

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This is supposed to be hockey’s golden season.

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The NHL playoffs are winding down to the conference finals. Team Canada is in Finland as of this writing, preparing to play the host team for the gold medal.

Yet the sickening underbelly of the hockey establishment is on display once again, as Hockey Canada has settled a sexual assault case involving one young woman and eight former junior players, some of them members of the 2018 World Junior team that won a gold medal.

The news broke late last week when a young woman who alleged that she was sexually assaulted by eight Canadian Hockey League players agreed to drop a $3.55-million lawsuit in exchange for a settlement reached with Hockey Canada.

The woman’s appalling allegations were detailed in court records filed in Ontario Superior Court in London, Ont., the city where the alleged assault took place, on April 20.

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The alleged victim has refused to identify the players, who are named in court documents only as John Doe 1 through 8. Some were members of the World Junior team that won the gold medal in January 2018, six months before the celebratory gala in London that preceded the alleged assaults.

Many of those players have moved on to the NHL. The roster of that 2018 team is on the public record — but to name any player without knowing who was involved tars them all with the same brush.

TSN reporter Rick Westhead quoted Robert Talach, the plaintiff’s lawyer, who confirmed that his client had agreed to the settlement but refused to say whether she had signed a non-disclosure agreement.

“The plaintiff is satisfied with the outcome and relieved that this difficult matter has been concluded,” Talach said in an email to TSN. “She has nothing further to add and, consistent with her de ella expressed wishes and behavior de ella throughout de ella, requests that her privacy and desire de ella not to be identified continues to be respected.”

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Given the living hell that descends on any woman who alleges sexual assault, that is understandable — but the allegations, as presented in the lawsuit, are horrific. The lawsuit states that the woman had been drinking with players at a London bar and was already heavily intoxicated when she went to a hotel room with one player. After they had sex, he opened the door to seven other players, who allegedly slapped her, spat on her and assaulted her repeatedly as she was crying and prevented from leaving the room.

“The number of men and the fact that they had brought golf clubs to the room further intimidated the plaintiff,” the lawsuit said.

The golf clubs are an odd and alarming detail. Did the players happen to be wandering through the hotel carrying golf clubs, or did they bring them to the room specifically to frighten her?

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The lawsuit also alleges that the players directed her to claim that she was sober while being video recorded and told her to take a shower after the assaults, indicating they were fully aware of what they were doing.

Hockey Canada spokeswoman Esther Madziya told TSN that Hockey Canada was deeply troubled by the allegations and informed local police authorities as soon as they learned of the allegations in 2018. Madziya said the organization also retained an independent firm to investigate and make recommendations on areas for improvement , which Hockey Canada has been implemented.

“The person bringing the allegations forward chose not to speak with either police or with Hockey Canada’s independent investigator and also chose not to identify the players involved. This was her right from her, and we fully respect her wishes from her. We have settled this matter and as part of that settlement, we will not be commenting further.”

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That is Hockey Canada’s position — but it is highly unlikely to stand.

A far more forceful statement came, surprisingly, from the NHL, which termed the allegations “both abhorrent and reprehensible” and promised to endeavor to determine the facts and what action, if any, would be appropriate.

Another aspect of the latest hockey scandal is financial. Martin Leclerc pointed out in his column for Radio-Canada that Hockey Canada is funded, in part, by the federal government, with additional funding from corporations including Tim Hortons, Nike, Telus and Esso.

You don’t settle a $3.55-million lawsuit with a few bills and some spare change from petty cash, so who paid for the settlement? Did taxpayers foot the bill, or did the sponsors ante up?

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Above all, what consequences will these young men face? If the facts are as stated in the lawsuit, they have committed a serious crime — one far more serious than the deed that led Canadiens draft pick Logan Mailloux to interrupt his career temporarily.

Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney announced his retirement on April 20 after eight years on the job, effective July 1. His successor, current president Scott Smith, is going to have to hold a press conference to address these issues as early as possible. Hockey Canada has an excellent public-relations staff, but a two-paragraph statement from a spokesperson is not going to cut it.

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