This article discusses sexual assault and may be triggering for some readers.
5 January 2018. Buffalo, New York. Team Sweden versus Team Canada. It’s the gold medal game of the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (World Juniors). A sea of red jerseys envelops the ice of the KeyBank Center. Carter Hart starts in the net for Canada. Dillon Dubé opens the scoring, it’s 1–0 Canada. Sweden scores, the game is tied at 1–1. With less than two minutes to go in the third period, the game still tied at 1–1 and inevitably heading to overtime, Tyler Steenbergen scores to make it 2–1 Canada. The crowd erupts as ‘Hey Baby’ by DJ Ötzi reverberates throughout the arena. For good measure, Alex Formenton scores an empty net goal, clinching the gold medal for Team Canada. That night was a night that many Canadian hockey fans will never forget, but will likely want to. Six years later, in January 2024, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, and fellow 2018 World Junior teammates Michael McLeod and Cal Foote face sexual assault charges for an alleged group sexual assault that took place in London, Ontario in 2018. And to think that at one point the biggest controversy of the 2018 World Junior tournament was Swedish captain Lias Andersson throwing his silver medal into the crowd…
A woman, known only as E.M., alleges that she was sexually assaulted by eight members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team following a fundraising gala in London in 2018. She alleges that one of the team members took her from a bar to a hotel room where he then brought in seven other team members. The eight-team members then allegedly assaulted her, intimidated her, and prevented her from leaving the hotel room. She also alleges that, following the assault, the team members told her to take a shower and to say on video that she was sober. E.M. sued Hockey Canada in 2022, seeking $3.55 million in damages. Hockey Canada settled the lawsuit, but a subsequent investigation revealed that the organization had a dedicated fund used to pay out millions of dollars for sexual assault claims. As a result of public outrage, the London police reopened their investigation into the alleged assault in July 2022. Moreover, in that July it was revealed that members of the 2003 Canadian World Junior team were also alleged to have been perpetrators of a group sexual assault that took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Halifax police opened an investigation after they were informed of video evidence of the alleged incident. While no update has been provided on the alleged 2003 incident, the five team members named in the alleged 2018 incident have turned themselves in to the police and have retained counsel. The lawyers for Hart, Dubé, Formenton, McLeod, and Foote have all released statements indicating that the team members will plead not guilty to the sexual assault charges.
Two separate alleged group sexual assaults and a hush fund? This only scratches the surface, but it’s clear that something is deeply wrong with the Hockey Canada organisation. However, I think it’s more accurate to say that something is profoundly wrong with hockey culture as a whole. These instances are not only limited to Canada—they happen in other hockey markets around the world. As someone who has followed hockey for over a decade, including through social media, the online discourse surrounding the sexual assault charges for the members of the 2018 World Junior team didn’t surprise me in the slightest. On the one hand, there’s a large contingent of individuals championing that everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and on the other hand, there are a select few individuals chalking the alleged incident up to a teenage mistake. My thoughts on the latter group are eloquently summarized by X user @heartz4aly who responded to one of these individuals saying, “‘we’ve all made mistakes at 18’ when talking about rape is f****** crazy.” When I was eighteen, I was getting regrettable tattoos, not committing crimes against the person (or any crimes, for that matter). However, like clockwork, allegations of abuse, homophobia, racism, sexism, and so on in hockey are always met with apologists, deniers, homophobes, racists, sexists, etc. both online and in real life. So, why do some hockey fans feel the need to defend the horrible actions of players, organisations, and leagues? Hockey culture is entrenched with a deep hatred for anything and anyone who deviates from the norm as prescribed by the ruling class of society. As made clear by these recent events, it’s evident that sexual assault and abuse are part of this norm. Hockey culture needs a serious, major overhaul.
Until that happens, however, we’ll just have to wait and see what comes of the charges to the five 2018 World Junior team members. It’s worth noting that the actions of Hockey Canada and the inaction by police in regards to the alleged group sexual assault allowed Hart, Dubé, Formenton, McLeod, and Foote to live their lives unbothered for years—they were allowed to play professional hockey and make millions of dollars doing so. Consequently, the team members have been able to retain some of the best criminal defense lawyers in Toronto. Coupled with the fact that all five are White men, I truly wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t end up facing legal repercussions. As impartial as Canada’s criminal justice system claims to be, it predominantly serves the aforementioned ruling class of society, leaving vulnerable and marginalised people along with victims and survivors of crime at a disadvantage. I hope that E.M. gets the justice she deserves, and I hope that, if found guilty, the five team members face the consequences of their actions—sexual assault carries with it a maximum prison term of ten years for an indictable offense, per s. 271(a) of the Criminal Code.
5 January 2018. Buffalo, New York. Team Sweden versus Team Canada. It’s the gold medal game of the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (World Juniors). A sea of red jerseys envelops the ice of the KeyBank Center. Carter Hart starts in the net for Canada. Dillon Dubé opens the scoring, it’s 1–0 Canada. Sweden scores, the game is tied at 1–1. With less than two minutes to go in the third period, the game still tied at 1–1 and inevitably heading to overtime, Tyler Steenbergen scores to make it 2–1 Canada. The crowd erupts as ‘Hey Baby’ by DJ Ötzi reverberates throughout the arena. For good measure, Alex Formenton scores an empty net goal, clinching the gold medal for Team Canada. That night was a night that many Canadian hockey fans will never forget, but will likely want to. Six years later, in January 2024, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, and fellow 2018 World Junior teammates Michael McLeod and Cal Foote face sexual assault charges for an alleged group sexual assault that took place in London, Ontario in 2018. And to think that at one point the biggest controversy of the 2018 World Junior tournament was Swedish captain Lias Andersson throwing his silver medal into the crowd…
A woman, known only as E.M., alleges that she was sexually assaulted by eight members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team following a fundraising gala in London in 2018. She alleges that one of the team members took her from a bar to a hotel room where he then brought in seven other team members. The eight-team members then allegedly assaulted her, intimidated her, and prevented her from leaving the hotel room. She also alleges that, following the assault, the team members told her to take a shower and to say on video that she was sober. E.M. sued Hockey Canada in 2022, seeking $3.55 million in damages. Hockey Canada settled the lawsuit, but a subsequent investigation revealed that the organization had a dedicated fund used to pay out millions of dollars for sexual assault claims. As a result of public outrage, the London police reopened their investigation into the alleged assault in July 2022. Moreover, in that July it was revealed that members of the 2003 Canadian World Junior team were also alleged to have been perpetrators of a group sexual assault that took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Halifax police opened an investigation after they were informed of video evidence of the alleged incident. While no update has been provided on the alleged 2003 incident, the five team members named in the alleged 2018 incident have turned themselves in to the police and have retained counsel. The lawyers for Hart, Dubé, Formenton, McLeod, and Foote have all released statements indicating that the team members will plead not guilty to the sexual assault charges.
Two separate alleged group sexual assaults and a hush fund? This only scratches the surface, but it’s clear that something is deeply wrong with the Hockey Canada organisation. However, I think it’s more accurate to say that something is profoundly wrong with hockey culture as a whole. These instances are not only limited to Canada—they happen in other hockey markets around the world. As someone who has followed hockey for over a decade, including through social media, the online discourse surrounding the sexual assault charges for the members of the 2018 World Junior team didn’t surprise me in the slightest. On the one hand, there’s a large contingent of individuals championing that everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and on the other hand, there are a select few individuals chalking the alleged incident up to a teenage mistake. My thoughts on the latter group are eloquently summarized by X user @heartz4aly who responded to one of these individuals saying, “‘we’ve all made mistakes at 18’ when talking about rape is f****** crazy.” When I was eighteen, I was getting regrettable tattoos, not committing crimes against the person (or any crimes, for that matter). However, like clockwork, allegations of abuse, homophobia, racism, sexism, and so on in hockey are always met with apologists, deniers, homophobes, racists, sexists, etc. both online and in real life. So, why do some hockey fans feel the need to defend the horrible actions of players, organisations, and leagues? Hockey culture is entrenched with a deep hatred for anything and anyone who deviates from the norm as prescribed by the ruling class of society. As made clear by these recent events, it’s evident that sexual assault and abuse are part of this norm. Hockey culture needs a serious, major overhaul.
Until that happens, however, we’ll just have to wait and see what comes of the charges to the five 2018 World Junior team members. It’s worth noting that the actions of Hockey Canada and the inaction by police in regards to the alleged group sexual assault allowed Hart, Dubé, Formenton, McLeod, and Foote to live their lives unbothered for years—they were allowed to play professional hockey and make millions of dollars doing so. Consequently, the team members have been able to retain some of the best criminal defense lawyers in Toronto. Coupled with the fact that all five are White men, I truly wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t end up facing legal repercussions. As impartial as Canada’s criminal justice system claims to be, it predominantly serves the aforementioned ruling class of society, leaving vulnerable and marginalised people along with victims and survivors of crime at a disadvantage. I hope that E.M. gets the justice she deserves, and I hope that, if found guilty, the five team members face the consequences of their actions—sexual assault carries with it a maximum prison term of ten years for an indictable offense, per s. 271(a) of the Criminal Code.