TSN: Affidavits outline alleged abuse, harassment and hazing in junior hockey
A report on hazing by FKRM professor jay johnson was also presented along with affidavits by former CHL players
As reported by TSN:
The stories of alleged abuse, sexual and otherwise, harassment, and hazing in junior hockey were detailed in affidavits filed in an Ontario Superior Court in Toronto on Monday by a dozen former Canadian Hockey League players. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The oldest, Doug Smith, 57, played for the Ottawa 67’s in the Ontario Hockey League between 1979 and 1982. The Los Angeles Kings selected Smith with the second-overall pick in the 1981 NHL entry draft. The youngest player is 27 and played in the OHL between 2009 and 2014.
Lawyers for the former CHL players also filed with the court an expert report written by Jay Johnson, a University of Manitoba professor who has studied the issue of hazing, initiations and rites of passage.
Johnson described in his report the cyclical nature of abuse on Canadian junior hockey – repeated abuse scandals followed by efforts to reform the game.
“I have heard the same stories regarding the same explicit rituals time and time again,” Johnson wrote in his report. “Hazing and abuse are ingrained in this culture. Both the intense severity of the abuse and the commonality of the practices are particular to junior hockey in the CHL. The same types of rituals are practiced across Canada from Halifax to Quebec City to Vancouver Island over years and decades…Hockey hazing continues to this day with management fully aware of its presence.”
This article continues on tsn.ca. Warning: the story contains extremely graphic content and language that may be upsetting to some readers.