Jack Todd: It’s about time Hockey Canada cleaned house

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As sponsor after sponsor pulled funds from Hockey Canada this week, there was little doubt the organization’s executive will have to step down following the scandalous decision to pay the victim of an alleged gang rape by eight junior players at a London facility. . hotel.

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Scotiabank, Telus, Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire, Bauer — the list of companies pulling out is a Who’s Who of hockey sponsors across the country. Esso unwisely chose to stay, but the company said it is aware of the situation and “concrete steps must be taken immediately to address security issues and ensure rapid cultural change.”

All that is as it should be. Even after the initial round of government hearings, there are so many unresolved questions about pay that a full investigation of all aspects of Hockey Canada’s management is required.

The first question: How come neither the London police nor the law firm hired by Hockey Canada to “investigate” the incident were able to find the names of any of the eight players involved?

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Unfortunately, when sponsors take their money out of Hockey Canada, it also affects the thousands of young women and girls who play hockey in this country, women who are completely innocent, who are often subjected to sexism and inappropriate behavior, and who don’t have nine years. Figure NHL contracts in your future.

Sponsors are aware of what needs to be done to compensate. Scotiabank took the unusual step of running a full page in the Globe and Mail to explain its position and emphasize its intention to divert money to other programs and charities that help women victims of gender-based violence.

The situation as it stands now is simply untenable. Scott Smith must step down as CEO, and his replacement must be a woman. It’s the only way to get rid of the toxic male culture that has dominated youth hockey in this country for decades.

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cold war reality

It’s a John Le Carré novel adapted for reality television: the NHL prospect gets into a contract dispute with a Russian hockey team. Next thing he knows, he’s been caught, injected, possibly poisoned, and taken to a Russian naval base.

Except this war is not cold. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a war of hot shots. Vladimir Putin’s regime is murdering thousands of Ukrainian civilians while transporting hundreds of thousands more, including women and children, to Russia.

Putin, increasingly paranoid and inclined to lash out when his invasion has stalled in the face of valiant Ukrainian resistance, has shown that no situation is too insignificant to command his attention.

Contract disputes involving Russian players wanting to come to North America are, after all, pretty routine. Someone wants out, the Russians protest, negotiations take place, the player is released.

But the lengths to which Putin has gone in the Ivan Fedotov case are chilling. Fedotov’s case would be routine except that 1) Putin is looking for hostages and 2) Fedotov plays for CKSA Moscow, which is technically the military, for which Fedotov has been charged with draft evasion, which evokes my particular sympathy.

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Fedotov had signed with the Philadelphia Flyers on May 7. He was expected to compete for a spot on the list this fall, after helping Russia win a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. It is surely no accident that Fedotov was arrested on the same day that the kangaroo trial of WNBA star Brittney Griner began in Moscow. Griner has been detained on charges that small amounts of hashish oil in vape cartridges were found in her luggage.

Fedotov was taken first to the Saint Petersburg military police station, then by ambulance to the hospital during the night of July 1. According to his lawyer, Fedotov was forcibly injected with an unknown substance and then taken to the Russian naval base in the closed city of Severomorsk in Murmansk oblast, at a distance of 1,356 kilometers from St. Petersburg.

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With the NHL draft now less than five days away, this has to be a wrench in many teams’ draft plans. All things being equal, teams are expected to move away from Russian players during the 2022 draft. Organizations now have to worry not only about whether a draft pick from Russia might be available, but they also have to fear that recruiting to a Russian could put his life in danger.

If ever there was a time for Alexander Ovechkin and some of the other prominent Russian players to follow Artemi Panarin’s lead and speak up, this is it. Fedotov’s arrest and detention potentially affects all Russian players aspiring to the NHL.

Unfortunately, Putin’s best-known stooge will remain exactly that, while the NHL plays the role of not-so-innocent bystander.

Heroes: Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, Canadiens number one pick, Ivan Fedotov, Brittney Griner, Iga Swiatek, Wilfried Nancy, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Corey Perry &&&& last but not least, Arturri Lehkonen.

Zeros: Vladimir Putin, Alexander Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, Scott Smith, Tom Renney, Novak Djokovic, Nelson Piquet, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last and least, Jeffrey Loria.

Now and always.

@jacktodd46

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