Canadian Athletics Under Investigation

Canadian team pose before match versus New Zealand, July 25th. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo, AP Photo)

Two major scandals have rocked Canadian sport organizations within the past year. First, Hockey Canada came under fire after a sexual assault case from 2018 came to light, and now Canada Soccer is being investigated for spying on opponents. While Hockey Canada’s situation has serious criminal implications, both have called fans and sport enthusiasts around the world to question the culture of Canadian athletics.

In 2018, the Canadian world junior team won gold at the IIHF World Junior Championships. The overarching case has been ongoing for six years, but in 2022, the victim filed a civil lawsuit, citing that she was sexually assaulted by eight members of the team. Five players have turned themselves in to London, Ontario police, and denied any wrongdoing. Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foot, Dillon Dube and Alex Formenton, all had NHL experience and several had established themselves on their respective rosters before this scandal emerged. The entire board of directors and CEO of Hockey Canada have since resigned, and the trial of the five named players is currently pending.

On July 22nd, New Zealand women’s national soccer team reported to French police that there was a drone flying over their closed practice. The drone was traced back to a staff member of Canada Soccer, and Canada and New Zealand were set to play only days later. The staff member and the coach he reported to were sent home, and head coach Beverly Priestman ‘voluntarily’ removed herself from the team. Canada Soccer chief executives released a statement that the federation does not believe that this was an isolated incident. All staffers who were removed, including the former head coach, received one-year bans from FIFA, and the Canadian Olympic team was penalized 6 points, making it nearly impossible for them to qualify for the knockout rounds. US Soccer reported that they had been aware that both Canadian men’s and women’s soccer had attempted to view closed practices. The Canadian women’s national team won Gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

While Hockey Canada’s scandal has serious criminal implications, especially for the five players currently under investigation, both situations are serious matters in the world of sports and raise significant concerns about the culture within Canadian sports organizations.