Five ice hockey players have reportedly been told to surrender to police in Canada over sexual assault allegations.
The Globe and Mail reports this The unnamed players have been given an undisclosed deadline to surrender to police in London, Ontario. In May 2022, it was reported that Hockey Canada paid an undisclosed settlement to a woman who alleged in a lawsuit that she was sexually assaulted by eight players, including members of the country’s world junior team, following a Hockey Canada gala in 2018. Previously in 2022, Hockey Canada executives told a parliamentary committee that the organization had secretly paid nearly US$9 million ($6.7 million) to 21 sexual misconduct complainants. No one has ever been criminally charged over the 2018 assault allegations.
Media reports later revealed that young players across the country had unknowingly funded the payments through their registration fees to Hockey Canada. According to reports from the Globe and Mail, Hockey Canada also failed to inform Parliament of the existence of a second secret fund to finance legal efforts to fend off claims of sexual abuse.
In October 2022, Hockey Canada’s CEO and entire board of directors resigned due to the governing body’s failure to address allegations of sexual assault.
Hockey Canada later ordered a report on the handling of the 2018 allegations. Police read the document before reportedly ordering the players to surrender this week.
Canadian sports have been plagued by reports of abuse in a number of sports outside of hockey, including gymnastics, football and water polo.
“Abuse is a dirty hidden secret in sports and what people see is the tip of the iceberg,” Kirsty Duncan, a former deputy leader in Canada’s House of Commons, told the Guardian last year.
“The problem of sexual assault, abuse and harassment in sports is multi-faceted and deep-rooted. It is about the mistreatment, abuse and intimidation of athletes by coaches and trainers and their support staff.”