A year into a job as head of Hockey Canada, Henderson says hockey is healthier Achi-News

CALGARY – Hockey Canada president and chief executive officer Katherine Henderson says the organization and the sport are headed in healthier directions since she inherited a body in crisis just over a year ago.

Henderson took over on September 4, 2023 after seven years as CEO of Curling Canada.

Arguably the most powerful amateur sports organization in the country, Hockey Canada was, and still is, held accountable for its conduct in an alleged sexual assault by members of Canada’s 2018 junior men’s hockey team at a gala in London, Ont. ., in June. that year.

The allegations have not been proven in court. Five players, all of whom went on to play in the NHL, are going before a jury trial next year.

Revelations in 2022 that Hockey Canada used a portion of minor hockey fees to settle lawsuits in other similar cases ignited a firestorm that highlighted other problems such as racism, hazing, discrimination and homophobia in hockey, and cost the organization money in sponsorship lost.

Enter Henderson, who took on the mission of changing the culture at Hockey Canada and in hockey in Canada. A new board of directors was struck within weeks of her joining.

“‘Scary’ was the word I think walking in and I don’t think I walked away from that,” Henderson said Friday. “It’s still scary. I’m pretty hopeful that we can make some very significant change and be Hockey Canada and the sport of hockey that Canadians trust us and want us to be.

“I think we can earn that trust back.”

The Beyond The Boards Summit in Calgary, held during Henderson’s first official week in office, explored toxic masculinity in elite men’s hockey as a root cause of racism, sexism, homophobia and discrimination in the sport.

Another summit exploring misogyny, sexism, homophobia and transphobia is scheduled for November 14-15 in Ottawa.

“The healthier part of this is listening and thinking about what those things are that might not be healthy,” Henderson said. “I’m not sure I’ve solved it in a year, but I’ve certainly taken a lot of significant steps to say I want to understand it and what I can solve in the short term, I’m absolutely ready to do that.”

Henderson said she received a message after the Calgary summit from a northern Ontario hockey mom who demanded a sign saying “what happens in the dressing room, stays in the dressing room” be removed from her son’s team’s dressing room .

“There is a perfect example of people listening to some of the things we do and then taking it upon themselves to say ‘I’m part of this too, I’m part of a movement that wants to things be better,’” Henderson said.

The publication of a financial statement, an abuse report and a detailed breakdown of where minor hockey fees are spent on Hockey Canada’s website were among the initial overtures at transparency under Henderson.

How player acceptance programs, coach training and safe sports policies fostered respectful behavior came under the microscope, he said.

“What we weren’t seeing was behavior change, and that’s really all. If that is the case, how do we improve our education programs for coaches, trainers, parents, players?,” Henderson asked. “If education is going to be a big part of this and we want to change behaviour, then we need to ask ourselves, is this good enough? What we’ve found over the years is no, it’s not, so let’s replace it with better things.”

While over 100,000 women and girls are participating in hockey as players, officials and coaches for the first time, Henderson notes that still represents 20 percent of the membership.

“I’m not sure that’s good enough. When you look at fandom and how people play sports, it should be much higher than that,” he said.

The changes Henderson will make will be in the shadow of an upcoming trial that will likely draw the attention of the country.

Hockey Canada’s decision on whether players on the 2018 team have violated the organization’s code of conduct and what sanctions might follow has been put on hold. An independent appeal board has postponed an appeal hearing until after the trial.

“We took the advice, as did the players, the referee panel’s advice that they were going to delay the appeal,” Henderson said. “We have to accept that too. It is an independent party that looks at this.”

All members of the 2018 world junior team remain barred from representing Canada internationally, Henderson said.

There was a process, however, that made defenseman Cale Makar eligible to play for Canada in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off in February, and in the 2026 Olympics if selected.

“After being nominated by the Team Canada management group for consideration to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off, Cale Makar participated in an additional third party review of the allegations regarding the Canadian National Junior Team in 2018 and was approved to participate in the tournament. and future international events,” Hockey Canada said in a statement.

Henderson acknowledged that Canadians would be interested in the trial and its outcome.

“It’s of huge interest and we can certainly see people following that forward, but at the same time, I think there’s a lot of interest in what we’re doing to improve the game?” Henderson said.

“Hockey is healthier, because I think we have declared accountability and transparency, and we started to act on that. A lot of that is telling people what we’re doing and then doing it.”

This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 20, 2024.