Calls for hockey culture change continue after decision in sexual assault trial

The spotlight on Canadian hockey culture dimming with the acquittal of five players of sexual assault charges is potentially part of the fallout from Thursday’s verdict.

Hockey Canada vowed in 2022 to tackle “the toxic behaviour that exists in many corners of the game.”

At that time, the organization was under fire for its handling of sexual assault allegations against members of the 2018 Canadian junior men’s hockey team, and for using a portion of registration fees to settle lawsuits.

Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote were acquitted of all charges Thursday in courtroom in London, Ont. Four of the five were NHL players when they were arrested in 2024.

The case had sent shock waves across Canadian hockey and reached the House of Commons, where members of Parliament grilled Hockey Canada executives on what they knew and did.

Does all the talk of changing hockey culture get walked back with the judge’s decision Thursday?

“The concern is that the community will see this decision, and they’ll say hockey culture doesn’t need to change, because these guys did nothing wrong,” said Greg Gilhooly, a lawyer and survivor of sexual abuse by hockey coach Graham James.

“The legal system doesn’t address something more fundamental, and that’s what should the guys have done in that room. If there’s one thing that is undeniable, it’s that in that room that night, there was an absence of leadership. There was an absence of character. Nobody said at any time, ‘I don’t care what she’s saying, this is wrong. We need to be better than this. Stop.’

“Does a failure of character mean that someone should go to jail? It does not. The hope that I have is that coming out of this, hockey, and society at large, will realize that you need to think about your actions and avoid putting yourselves in situations like this and act with character, not act as the situation allows you to act. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

When TSN reported the allegations and a civil settlement stemming from them in 2022, Hockey Canada’s feet were held to the fire not only because players were at its gala on the night in question to celebrate the team’s win in the 2018 world junior championship.

The revelations lifted the lid on other hockey issues such as racism, hazing, discrimination and homophobia. Sponsors left Hockey Canada in the aftermath, but some have since returned.

Scott Smith resigned as president and chief executive officer and was eventually replaced in 2023 by Katherine Henderson.

Hockey Canada published a slate of reforms in 2022, including mandatory training for athletes and staff on sexual violence and consent.

The organization held a 2023 summit in Calgary to address toxic masculinity in hockey, and another in Ottawa in 2024 analyzing unhealthy outcomes in hockey.

“The problem absolutely will be that coming out of this decision, there will be a reaction saying that ‘Hockey Canada had it right all along, the board shouldn’t have stepped down, these guys did nothing wrong,'” Gilhooly said.

“That’s not what this decision says. This decision says those boys are not guilty of the crimes they’ve been charged. That’s it. All of the good change that is taking place within the sporting community and society at large is good and it is needed and it needs to be emphasized and the change needs to continue.

“Absolutely, there will be a real fear now that that change won’t be pressed forward as much as it should be.”

Hockey Canada said Henderson wasn’t available for an interview Thursday, and offered a list of changes and reforms enacted from its action plan.

“While important progress has been made since 2022, there is still more work to be done and we will continue to be transparent and accountable to Canadians as we drive systemic change within our National Winter Sport,” it said in a statement.

Canada’s sports minister in 2022, Pascale St-Onge, ordered a forensic audit of Hockey Canada to determine if public funds were used as part of a civil settlement with the trial’s complainant, and froze its funding until the body became a signatory to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commission (OSIC).

Canada’s Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, “We take note of the independent court’s decision today. This is a critical moment in sport and this case has sparked a national conversation about safe sport and the problematic culture in men’s hockey.”

Van Koeverden acknowledged Hockey Canada has made progress since 2022 in addressing “longstanding systemic failures.”

“It’s critical that this work on safe sport continues across the sport system, because we know that when safeguards are weak or absent, real harm occurs,” he wrote.

The author of “Crossing The Line; Violence and Sexual Assault in Canada’s National Sport” was at the courthouse in London. Laura Robinson’s 1998 book examined sexual assault and hazing in junior hockey culture.

“I don’t think much has changed,” she said.

Robinson points out that while men are involved in decision making around women’s national teams, the coaches and managers Hockey Canada assigns to the men’s under-20 teams are exclusively male and from junior men’s leagues.

“If Hockey Canada really wanted to really change things, you need to have a change in leadership everywhere,” Robinson said.

“Is there no woman in Canada who could coach or be on the coaching staff at Hockey Canada for the world juniors or at the Olympics?

“I’m sure they’re going to have women with the women’s team, but it’s the guys that need to change. We don’t have this happening with female athletes.”

A 2022 open letter to Canada’s sports minister and a parliamentary committee signed by 28 sport academics from 21 universities stated “sexual violence and misogyny are deeply rooted problems in men’s ice hockey.”

Thursday’s decision didn’t alter Toronto Metropolitan University associate professor Laurel Walzak’s belief that culture change is needed in hockey.

“I’m still really concerned as I was in 2022, probably the same concern,” she said. “I signed the letter as a very concerned person related to hockey in Canada.

“I go back to this letter and I feel like another letter needs to be written. We can copy and paste it, actually.

“We need to continue to keep a really close eye on Hockey Canada from a national level, provincial level, local level, all the levels and questioning what’s happening. We cannot forget the amount of money that Hockey Canada had in its power to be able to hide and keep things secret.”

An advocacy group for abuse survivors in sport stated Thursday’s legal decision “risks reinforcing the very culture of silence and impunity that survivors of sexual violence in sport have long fought to dismantle.”

“We are concerned this verdict will have a chilling effect,” said Athletes Empowered managing director and former gymnast Amelia Cline in a statement.

“Survivors watching this case unfold may now feel even more reluctant to speak up, fearing that their pain will be minimized, their experiences invalidated, and justice nearly impossible to achieve.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025.