Hockey Canada has clarified the number of incidents of alleged abuse, harassment or discrimination it has reported to Sport Canada since 2018, after the testimony of Hockey Canada’s president before the Commons heritage committee in late July mentioned fewer reported incidents than the figure Sport Canada officials had given MPs the day before.
Sport Canada has also since told CBC News that another incident was reported by Hockey Canada the day after its officials appeared as witnesses, bringing the total number of incidents disclosed over the last four years to nine.
As a condition of their funding agreements with the federal government, national sport organizations like Hockey Canada have been required since 2018 to immediately disclose any incident of harassment, abuse or discrimination “that could compromise the project of programming.”
The incidents must also be reported to the proper authorities, which could include the police if a criminal investigation is warranted. Sport organizations are required to have formal policies in place to prevent harassment and abuse and address any cases that emerge, including providing access to an independent third party to investigate and make recommendations.
Sport Canada can’t investigate cases
During his testimony at committee on July 26, Michel Ruest, a senior director in charge of programs at Sport Canada, was asked by Bloc MP Andréanne Larouche for the exact number of incidents reported by Hockey Canada in each of the years since its funding agreement required these disclosures (2018-2022).
Ruest said there were eight cases reported to its confidential database.
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Ruest said the confidential details of the allegations contained in these reports had on certain occasions been communicated internally, but only the overall statistics were shared with the minister’s office, not specific details. Sport Canada does not have the mandated authority to conduct investigations into these cases, he told MPs, and the disclosures to the government include “minimal information” — in accordance with the Privacy Act, Ruest said names are not shared unless they are already in the public domain.
In response to a follow-up question by email from CBC News, Sport Canada broke down the reports in its database by year:
Two reports in 2018.
One in 2019.
Three in 2020.
One in 2021.
Two in 2022.
The year of a report to Sport Canada doesn’t necessarily line up with the year an alleged incident took place.
Based on Hockey Canada’s committee testimony, the first incident reported in 2022 was the alleged group sexual assault by members of Canada’s 2003 national junior hockey team that occurred in Halifax, N.S., and is now the subject of a police investigation. It only became known to the public — and, hockey officials said in their testimony, Hockey Canada itself — in a TSN report earlier this summer.
Officials said they had only heard “rumours” about it a couple weeks before TSN published the results of its investigation, but reported it to Sport Canada immediately once the media report was out.
Discrepancy in number of cases
When he first appeared before the committee on June 20, Hockey Canada president Scott Smith told the committee he was not prepared to speak about specific incidents. During his testimony before the committee on July 27, Smith was asked by New Democrat MP Peter Julian whether he was now prepared to speak about the specifics of ongoing investigations.
Hockey Canada president Scott Smith is seen above during parliamentary hearing in July. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
This time, Smith was prepared to confirm that one of the incidents reported to Hockey Canada in 2018 was the alleged group sexual assault of a young woman in London, Ont., by members of the 2018 national junior team. This incident also only became public because last spring, TSN reported on a cash settlement paid to the young woman by Hockey Canada.
Smith told the committee that in addition to the two investigations involving members of the national junior teams from 2003 and 2018, there were two other reports that do not relate to sexual misconduct, bringing the total number of reports to Sport Canada by Hockey Canada to four, he told MPs.
The other two reports, Smith said, date to 2018 and 2021 and are related to a family that alleges abusive behaviour because their son and daughter have been prevented from registering for youth hockey because of the conduct of the father in arenas.
CBC News asked Hockey Canada why Sport Canada’s testimony mentioned receiving eight incident reports from its organization, and yet the next day Smith told MPs there had been four reports made to Sport Canada.
Hockey Canada spokesperson Jeremy Knight replied that Smith believed that Julian’s question was about open investigations only, not the total number of reports.
“Mr. Smith’s response refers to four open investigations which, as required, were reported to Sport Canada. Not all reports to Sport Canada since 2018 have open investigations,” Knight said.
Knight’s response suggests that the investigations into the four incidents reported in 2019 and 2020 are now closed or concluded.
No details on the results of those investigations or even the nature of these incidents — including whether they involved alleged assault or abuse, harassment or discrimination — have been made public by either Hockey Canada or Sport Canada.
New incident reported day after testimony
The incident reported by Hockey Canada on July 28, the day following its testimony at committee, was “not a formal case,” a spokesperson for the minister of sport’s office told CBC News.
Ariane Joazard-Bélizaire said a person had contacted Hockey Canada “to request information about the process for reporting possible mistreatment of an athlete from the Northwest Territories.”
Hockey Canada advised this person to contact the police and gave the person information about the independent third-party mechanism in place for handling such cases, the minister’s spokesperson said.
The number of incidents reported to Sport Canada by hockey officials wasn’t the only confusing aspect of their July 27 testimony.
MPs also asked Hockey Canada officials exactly how much money had been paid to complainants of sexual abuse. The figure provided during the committee meeting — $8.9 million in total, from the organization’s national equity fund as well as insurance payments — did not, in fact, include the cash settlement paid to the complainant in the 2018 group assault involving junior team members.
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This omission was only revealed after the committee when journalists were questioning Smith in the hallway after his testimony. The president said an audited financial statement that includes the settlement to the young woman in the London, Ont., incident would not be completed until Hockey Canada’s annual meeting, so the total given to MPs did not include this most recent payout by the organization.
The exact amount paid to that young woman has not been confirmed, but her statement of claim was seeking $3.55 million and Smith told the committee that Hockey Canada’s board had endorsed “up to the maximum settlement number.”
“We didn’t know all of the details of the night [in question], but we did believe harm was caused,” Hockey Canada chief financial officer Brian Cairo told MPs.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Nick Saban has a message for Tua Tagovailoa: Listen to experts, then decide what happens next.
Antonio Pierce had another message: It’s time to retire.
Saban, Pierce and countless others within the game were speaking out Friday about Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins quarterback who is now dealing with the third confirmed concussion of his NFL career — all coming within the last 24 months. He was hurt in the third quarter of the Dolphins’ 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, leaving the game after a scary and all-too-familiar on-field scene.
“This has to be a medical decision,” Saban said on ESPN, where the now-retired coach works as an analyst. “I mean, you have to let medical people who understand the circumstances around these injuries, these concussions — and when you have multiple concussions, that’s not a good sign.
“I think Tua and his family and everyone else should listen to all the medical evidence to make sure you’re not compromising your future health-wise by continuing to play football.”
That process — gathering the medical facts — was getting underway in earnest on Friday, when Tagovailoa was set to be further evaluated at the team’s facility. He was diagnosed with a concussion within minutes of sustaining the injury on Thursday and there is no timetable for his return.
“I’ll be honest: I’d just tell him to retire,” Pierce, the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, said Friday. “It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it to play the game. I haven’t witnessed anything like I’ve seen that’s happened to him three times. Scary. You could see right away, the players’ faces on the field, you could see the sense of urgency from everybody to get Tua help. He’s going to live longer than he’s going to play football. Take care of your family.”
Concern — and opinions — have poured in from all across the football world ever since Tagovailoa got hurt. It is not a surprising topic — the questions of “should he? or shouldn’t he?” continue to play — nor is this the first time they have been asked. Tagovailoa himself said in April 2023 that he and his family weighed their options after he was diagnosed twice with concussions in the 2022 season.
But Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said it’s not his place, nor is it the time, to have discussions about whether Tagovailoa should play again.
“Those types of conversations, when you’re talking about somebody’s career, it probably is only fair that their career should be decided by them,” McDaniel said.
The Dolphins said Friday that they will bring in another quarterback, and for now are entrusting the starting job to Skylar Thompson. McDaniel said the team will not rush to any other judgments, that the only opinions that truly matter right now come from two sides — Tagovailoa and his family, and the medical experts who will monitor his recovery.
“The thing about it is everybody wants to play, and they love this game so much, and they give so much to it that when things like this happen, reality kind of hits a little bit,” Jacksonville coach Doug Pedersen said Friday. “It just shows the human nature, or the human side of our sport.”
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AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.
BRUSSELS – Canadian shot putter Sarah Mitton rebounded from a disappointing performance at the Paris Olympics by capturing Diamond League gold on Friday.
Mitton, of Brooklyn, N.S., won the competition, the final Diamond League event of the season, with a heave of 20.25 metres on her third throw.
Chase Jackson of the U.S. placed second with a throw of 19.90, while German’s Yemisi Ogunleye, the Olympic gold medallist, claimed bronze with a toss of 19.72.
Mitton, the runner-up of last year’s world championship, failed to qualify for the top eight in Paris.
Edmonton runner Marco Arop, who won silver for Canada in the men’s 800 metres at the Paris Games, was scheduled to race in the 800 on Saturday.
Olympic bronze-medallist Alysha Newman, of London, Ont., also competes Saturday in the women’s pole vault.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Greg Harden, who counseled countless people at the University of Michigan from Tom Brady to Michael Phelps, and Desmond Howard to J.J. McCarthy, has died. He was 75.
Michigan athletics spokesman Dave Ablauf said the family informed the athletic department that Harden died Thursday due to complications from surgery.
The late Bo Schembechler, a College Football Hall of Fame coach, hired Harden in 1986 as a staff consultant and student-athlete personal development program counselor.
“He meant the world to me and I could never have had the success I had without the time, energy, love and support he had given me,” said Brady, a former Michigan quarterback who went on to win seven Super Bowls in a 22-year career.
Howard, who won the Hesiman Trophy in 1991, was part of the first wave of Wolverines to count Harden as a confidant, mentor and friend.
“Greg brought wisdom, joy and his calming nature to every encounter,” Howard said. “His presence will be missed by all of us.
“Although my family and I are heartbroken, we hold on to the lessons, guidance and memories that will forever be Greg’s legacy. We are blessed beyond measure to have had him in our lives.”
Harden, who was from Detroit, earned undergraduate and master’s degrees at Michigan.
Phelps lived and trained in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after emerging as swimming star at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and worked on his mental health with Harden.
Harden retired from his role as director of counseling for Michigan’s athletic department in 2020. He still continued to work, advising student-athletes at Michigan along with the Toronto Maple Leafs as the NHL team’s peak performance coach.
He published his first book, “Stay Sane in an Insane World: How to Control the Controllables and Thrive,” last year.
Michigan athletics announced Harden’s death, and shared statements from some of the many people who knew him.
McCarthy, a Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback, sent the school his thoughts in the form of a letter to Harden.
“You gave me the courage and belief as we fought hand and hand against the demons that I’ve spent my entire life fighting,” McCarthy wrote. “You have inspired me by your ability to unconditionally love everyone and everything.”
While many famous football players worked with Harden, he also was a trusted adviser for women and men in all sports and walks of life, including broadcaster Michelle McMahon, who played volleyball at Michigan.
“He poured his heart into thousands of students, athletes, and celebrities alike without any expectation of gaining anything in return,” McMahon said. “He dedicated his entire life to making a difference and investing in the growth of the young impressionable minds that were lucky enough to meet him.
“His captivating presence and charisma captured the rooms he walked in. Greg’s gift to the world was his unwavering ability to help people see themselves fully, in full acceptance of their flaws and their gifts. His relentless approach made it impossible for his mentees to give up on themselves.”
