Image via @TheHockeyNews
- September 7 marked the 5th anniversary of the tragic airplane crash that took the lives of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL) players and staff, as well as the airplane staff. R.I.P. [Sportsnet]
- Hockey Canada has adopted new policies regarding locker room use by transgender people: “Players who identify as trans can use the dressing room corresponding to their gender identity, be addressed by their preferred name and pronoun, and have the privacy and confidentiality of their transgender status respected.” [Ontario Human Rights Commission]
- The World Cup of Hockey began exhibition play this week, with the regular tournament starting in Toronto next week. The event’s news cycle has been dominated by US coach John Tortorella, who criticized NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s protest of the US national anthem and stated that any of his players would be benched for taking a similar stance. [Puck Daddy; Sportsnet; USA Today]
- One of the most thoughtful responses to Tortorella’s critique was from J.T. Brown, an African American player with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Definitely worth reading Brown’s comments on the matter. [Tampa Bay Times]
- Another, much smaller, anthem controversy arose at the World Cup due to the NHL’s unusual creation of a Team Europe (European players not from Sweden, Finland, Russia, or the Czech Republic) and a U-24 North American team. Team Europe players were opposed to playing a neutral piece of music, so will go without an anthem; the North American squad will play both the American and Canadian national anthems. [Sportsnet]
- George Parros, a former enforcer who played nearly 500 NHL games, has been hired by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. [TSN]
- In the CIS, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men’s hockey team has been reinstated after it was suspended for two years due to sexual assault charges against two of its players during a 2014 road trip. The team has undergone extensive training to try to change the culture of the squad. [CTV News]
- Another hockey team, the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, is implementing training on sexual violence and respect toward women. While this seems like a positive step, there is concern that the training focuses on encouraging players not to be victimized rather than not to be perpetrators. [Peterborough Examiner]
- Despite using hundreds of millions of public funds to build the new Centre Vidéotron, Quebec City does not appear likely to land an NHL expansion franchise anytime soon. [Globe and Mail]
- An interview with Adam Scorgie, the producer of the upcoming documentary Ice Guardians. Hockey in Society contributor Victoria Silverwood is featured in the film, which debuts next week at the Toronto International Film Festival. [The Hockey Writers]
- The recently retired Scott Gomez wrote a poem to celebrate the game he loves. [The Player’s Tribune]
Hockey in Society / Hockey dans la société 