Hockey Canada scandals finally force CEO, entire board of directors to resign

Hockey Canada has officially announced the resignation of CEO Scott Smith and entire board of directors amidst allegations.

**CONTENT WARNING: The following article contains references to sexual assault**

At long last, Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith and the entire board of directors have been removed from their posts. Back in May of this year, the organization came under fire over how it handled sexual assault allegations involving members of the 2018 men’s national junior team.

According to reports, Smith and company paid millions of dollars ($3.5M to be exact) to settle a lawsuit by a woman who accused multiple members of its 2018 team of sexually assaulting her while intoxicated in a hotel room following a Hockey Canada Foundation gala that took place in London in June of 2018.

Once this came to light, Hockey Canada officials also testified at a House of Commons committee that it had paid over $7.6M across nine sexual assault lawsuits dating all the way back to 1989.

In a statement, Hockey Canada said it “recognizes the urgent need for new leadership and perspectives”. Per the announcement, a new slate of directors will not be elected until a December 17th, 2022 virtual election, and an interim management group will be brought in to assist with the organization’s day-to-day activities until then.

NHL: At long last, Hockey Canada front office members are out

Over the weekend, Andrea Skinner, the director and interim board chair of the organization stepped down as well, just days after she appeared before a parliamentary committee and defended Hockey Canada.

In court, Skinner claims that she “doesn’t believe senior leadership should be replaced on the basis of what we consider to be substantial misinformation and unduly cynical attacks”.

Since Skinner’s questionable performance, many major sponsors including Bauer Hockey, Nike, Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire, Esso and Telus responded immediately by cutting ties with Hockey Canada or by withdrawing funds for men’s hockey in the upcoming season.

In a statement provided earlier on Tuesday, Bauer CEO Ed Kinnaly and vice president of global marketing Mary-Kay Messier had the following to say about their now-paused relationship with Hockey Canada:

"“The allegations against and continued and repeated breach of trust by Hockey Canada’s leadership are extremely disturbing and warrant change. We have lost confidence in Hockey Canada’s leadership.”“They came across as trying to convince us that there were going to be blue skies ahead, but they didn’t have anything concrete to demonstrate their willingness, let alone a strategy, that would change the current dynamic. It felt a lot more like a PR plan than an action plan. It seemed more like self-preservation versus serving the Canadian people. … For us it was a complete disconnect in any openness to thinking about radical change.”"

To see the Hockey Canada executives who turned a blind eye to these awful claims that have come over the years is just a small victory in the endless war against sexual assault/abuse.

Please understand that help is available to any and all victims of sexual assault. The National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide support.

The number to reach them is 1-800-656-4673.