2018 World Junior Allegations
- Thread starter rdowdall
- Start date
Kin
New member
To say nothing of the fact that they, you know, seem to really enjoy covering up sexual assaults it does seem weird that the organization that purports to represent our country internationally has no actual affiliation with our government.
Say what you want about government responsibility but things like buying 3,000 dollar rings for Hockey Canada board members when we, as a nation, win a championship probably wouldn't happen if they were scrutinized and audited like a government department.
Say what you want about government responsibility but things like buying 3,000 dollar rings for Hockey Canada board members when we, as a nation, win a championship probably wouldn't happen if they were scrutinized and audited like a government department.
Arn
Active member
Nik said:
Is there not a thing that sporting bodies have to be independent to be affiliated to international bodies? FIFA for example ban countries whose governments interfere with the running of their national football body
https://www.goal.com/en-ae/news/fifa-banning-football-federations-over-court-interference/1o7l7pw4slgwx1euictrz82wks
https://www.voanews.com/a/fifa-suspends-zimbabwe-kenya-for-government-interference/6459189.html
This second report re Zimbabwe is of interest considering the reasons for government getting involved.
I suspect IIHF may be the same?
Guru Tugginmypuddah
Well-known member
Arn said:
"FIFA has maintained that the allegations should be investigated internally rather than by governments taking over."
Riiiiiiiiiight.
Kin
New member
Arn said:
I'm not sure but, quite frankly, given the issue being discussed here if the IIHF stood firm on a policy of no government oversight then I feel like the move there is to likewise disentangle yourself from the IIHF. These are sports tournaments, not Chinatown. If the international sporting world's policy is that sports bodies can't be policed by anyone but themselves we should reform the entirety of the whole crooked system.
Arn
Active member
Nik said:
I had a quick scan of the IIHF bylaws and found this section
Emphasis my own but I think possibly that suggests no outside interference such as from governments.
I don?t disagree with your point. FIFA, for example, have hardly covered themselves in glory in terms of corruption by government themselves.
Kin
New member
Arn said:
I'm not overly inclined to get too granular about IIHF details but it seems like Hockey Canada already operates with organizations like Hockey Quebec and your various Provincial organizations(who are choosing to withold money kicked towards the national program) so the idea that they already operate independently of any other organization seems suspect even as is.
OldTimeHockey
Active member
I kind of share the same feelings as Wickenheiser. I was never involved on the national stage but I've spent 41 of my 45 years involved in some capacity with the organization. From my youth playing days, to my current coaching days. It's a weird building of emotions towards the organization as a whole and it's tough to remove the hockey from the situation. But that's exactly what people have to do (and I think that's what she's saying about the lights always being on).
I'm sure the reasoning was 'sweep it under the carpet to protect our image'
But when it comes to light, it is worse. The reality of what is happening proves it.
We've seen it in other scandals like this.
A bunch of sponsor money - much that would have trickled down to the kids - is gone.
It will take time to recover and they may never fully recover in our lifetime.
My grandmother was not keen on my father playing hockey.
My mother wasn't keen on me playing hockey. They were not alone.
Some parents have been handed an additional excuse.
Even at that level, this is bad for the game.
How many volunteers will they lose from this shame?
How many arenas or development projects are getting put on hold?
It won't be as fashionable for politicians to support it for some time to come.
How could any of these directors getting $3,000 championship rings look anyone in the eye?
They have hurt the sport. Period.
They need to clean house. If they can't do that, shut it down and start over.
It should be obvious to them by now.
Enough.
But when it comes to light, it is worse. The reality of what is happening proves it.
We've seen it in other scandals like this.
A bunch of sponsor money - much that would have trickled down to the kids - is gone.
It will take time to recover and they may never fully recover in our lifetime.
My grandmother was not keen on my father playing hockey.
My mother wasn't keen on me playing hockey. They were not alone.
Some parents have been handed an additional excuse.
Even at that level, this is bad for the game.
How many volunteers will they lose from this shame?
How many arenas or development projects are getting put on hold?
It won't be as fashionable for politicians to support it for some time to come.
How could any of these directors getting $3,000 championship rings look anyone in the eye?
They have hurt the sport. Period.
They need to clean house. If they can't do that, shut it down and start over.
It should be obvious to them by now.
Enough.
Kin
New member
cw said:
Well that's the thing that I think is so revealing about this scandal. What this has shown us, maybe more definitively than anything else, is who the people running Hockey Canada really are. Because, just for argument's sake, let's say that the people at Hockey Canada genuinely don't think they did anything wrong. That means that they're either such raging egotists that they think the massive damage being done to the organization reputationally and financially by them not resigning is somehow less impactful than what would happen if they did resign or they simply don't care enough about the sport and the organization vs. whatever benefits they receive(financial or otherwise) from their current positions.
As serious as the allegations are regarding the slush funds and general attitude towards the misconduct of players is the fact that these are the sorts of people high up in the organization shows that cleaning this house was long overdue regardless. These guys getting 3,000 dollar championship rings is the sort of detail that would embarrass any decent person.
Nik said:
Sadly, I've seen this kind of thing more than once before.
Part of the root of it, in my opinion, is the concern of appearances. "What would people think if they knew some of our hockey players sexually assaulted a girl?" They fear the answer. So they take these steps to sweep it under the rug - in this case "to protect our organization" "to keep it out of the media and the courts".
Happens in companies.
Happens in churches.
Happens in schools.
These directors will argue with you that they were doing the right thing. And they will feel that by quitting, they would be admitting to doing something wrong and damaging their reputation (again, concerned about what people think of them). Of course, they're wrong but most of them can't and won't see it that way.
What they often miss is how their behavior affects the victim like "Here's some dough for the gang bang but Hockey Canada's reputation is more important ..." And the perpetrators get a slap on the wrist maybe while often, the ones getting away with it, reoffend. It happened in my own school and that Principal defended his actions to the day he died while the teacher he let off went on to reoffend at two other schools.
They've lost their way. Someone needs to show them the door.
That is the best thing for Hockey Canada.
L K said:
That to me is like stealing money from little kids.
I haven't been following it closely but I think Bob Nicholson has been asked to appear at a future hearing. Some of the roots to this allegedly started on his watch. He may lose his job with the Oilers (... resign to keep up appearances ..)
Kin
New member
cw said:
And what makes it particularly egregious is that this is a sport where a lot of kids have either restricted their involvement or never started playing at all because of the high costs.
Obviously the cost of these rings wouldn't materially change that but it definitely again speaks to the idea that these guys just have no idea about the optics of their behaviour.