Quebec\’s legislature is holding hearings Wednesday to investigate violence in hockey hazing rituals. Witnesses include representatives from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Canadian Hockey League, and McGill University, which suspended its football program for a year in 2005 after a student was sexually assaulted with a broom handle during a hazing party. The hearings come after an Ontario Superior Court Justice accepted evidence that former players suffered “horrific and despicable and unquestionably criminal acts”. The university initially refused to testify but changed course amid criticism from the province’s opposition parties. A panel for the CHL found an “unspoken code of silence” that enables misconduct off the ice. Join my Facebook group to stay up to date on the latest news and developments from this hearing.
Sania Mirza, a former doubles world number one and six-time Grand Slam champion in doubles and mixed doubles, recently played the final match of her 20-year professional career. She shared her honest opinion that she does not see an Indian talent emerging at the top echelons of women\’s tennis in the immediate future. However, Mirza is determined to help the next generation of young Indian girls to \”believe they can be champions\” and is taking on a mentorship role for the Royal Challengers Bangalore women\’s cricket team in the Indian Premier League. She hopes that her experience and advice can help them to become more comfortable and better accepted in the world of sports. Follow Mirza on her journey to make women\’s sport better and more acknowledged for the future in the subcontinent!
Sania Mirza, a former doubles world number one and six-time Grand Slam champion in doubles and mixed doubles, recently played the final match of her 20-year professional career. She shared her honest opinion that she does not see an Indian talent emerging at the top echelons of women\’s tennis in the immediate future. However, Mirza is determined to help the next generation of young Indian girls to \”believe they can be champions\” and is taking on a mentorship role for the Royal Challengers Bangalore women\’s cricket team in the Indian Premier League. She hopes that her experience and advice can help them to become more comfortable and better accepted in the world of sports. Follow Mirza on her journey to make women\’s sport better and more acknowledged for the future in the subcontinent!
Sania Mirza, a former doubles world number one and six-time Grand Slam champion in doubles and mixed doubles, recently played the final match of her 20-year professional career. She shared her honest opinion that she does not see an Indian talent emerging at the top echelons of women\’s tennis in the immediate future. However, Mirza is determined to help the next generation of young Indian girls to \”believe they can be champions\” and is taking on a mentorship role for the Royal Challengers Bangalore women\’s cricket team in the Indian Premier League. She hopes that her experience and advice can help them to become more comfortable and better accepted in the world of sports. Follow Mirza on her journey to make women\’s sport better and more acknowledged for the future in the subcontinent!
Sania Mirza, a former doubles world number one and six-time Grand Slam champion in doubles and mixed doubles, recently played the final match of her 20-year professional career. She shared her honest opinion that she does not see an Indian talent emerging at the top echelons of women\’s tennis in the immediate future. However, Mirza is determined to help the next generation of young Indian girls to \”believe they can be champions\” and is taking on a mentorship role for the Royal Challengers Bangalore women\’s cricket team in the Indian Premier League. She hopes that her experience and advice can help them to become more comfortable and better accepted in the world of sports. Follow Mirza on her journey to make women\’s sport better and more acknowledged for the future in the subcontinent!
she\’s a beautiful dog and I\’m very proud of her.\”
Last spring, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary\’s therapy dog, Stella, was invited into a St. John\’s courtroom. The black and white Portuguese water dog sat at the feet of the complainant in a sexual assault case, providing comfort while the judge read his verdict. Despite this success, requests for the RNC\’s trained police support dog between the end of July 2022 and mid-January 2023 were rejected or sent a generic emailed response. Internal emails and documents obtained by CBC News show that dozens of community outreach or victim services requests were denied over that six-month period. However, three public relations photo-ops were approved at the request of RNC leadership. Questions were raised about where the dog was and what was happening with the program. Stella was trained by a retired RNC staff sergeant, and along with her handler, Const. Krista Fagan, went just about everywhere in the community to prepare her for work. However, years later, that work has been curtailed, with Stella and her handler only being assigned to stay at RNC headquarters and other detachments and conduct visits for employee wellness. Requests from Eastern Health to attend a suicide awareness picnic and from Choices for Youth, social workers, and other local groups were denied. Despite this, Stella and her handler were asked to do a photo shoot with the Newfoundland Herald and attend Tim Horton\’s Smile Cookie Day and do a photo op for the Growlers sports organization. A private donor funded the police dog program, and the donor doesn\’t want any of the money back. Follow my Facebook group to stay up to date on the latest news surrounding Stella and the RNC\’s police dog program.
Women’s sport in Saudi Arabia reached a new milestone this week as the conservative kingdom sent their first female team to an International Tennis Federation (ITF) event.
The Asia/Oceania pre-qualifying event of Billie Jean King Cup Juniors, hosted this week in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is the first time Saudi Arabia has been represented by a female team at an ITF event.
“This is an amazing experience, and it is so empowering,” Saudi Arabia captain Areej Farah told ITF.
“Taking part in this event is a big step for women’s tennis in Saudi and we are all very proud to represent our country and do our best.
“Watching doors open for our young Saudi female athletes is just beyond exciting. I feel like I’m living through them, and I honestly thank this team for trusting me and allowing me this opportunity to guide them.”
Although recent reforms have given women in Saudi Arabia more freedoms, many of their rights remain restricted.
Saudi Arabia’s women’s football team only played their first match in February 2022, while Saudi women were banned from attending fixtures in stadiums until 2017.
“It’s groundbreaking because Saudi Arabia has a goal of expanding the number of women in sports, and being a part of that just makes us feel so lucky,” Dania Alzuhair, representing Saudi Arabia at the 16-and-under team event, added.
“Billie Jean King Cup is a huge international event, and we are so proud to take part in it.”
The ITF has been working with the Saudi Arabian Tennis Federation in the development of junior initiatives over the last few years, it said.
“(The development programmes include) the Junior Tennis Initiative and educational programmes for coaches and parents,” the ITF’s Development Officer for West and Central Asia, Amir Borghei, said.
“The Saudi Arabian Tennis Federation’s approach of developing junior tennis has helped them form a girls’ team, which is participating at an ITF team event for the first time. It is wonderful to see.”
Amazon teamed up with hearing implant company Cochlear to launch Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) support to compatible Cochlear devices, the company announced today.
Now, select Fire TV devices –such as Fire TV Omni Series, Fire TV Omni QLED Series, Fire TV 4-Series, Fire TV Cube (2nd Gen) and Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen) — can stream audio directly to Cochlear Nucleus 8, Nucleus 7, Nucleus Kanso 2 and Baha 6 Max sound processors.
The purpose of ASHA support is to give thousands of cochlear implant users a more comfortable way to watch their favorite movies and TV shows as well as use Alexa, listen to music, navigational sounds, and more, according to Amazon.
Amazon software engineer Michael Forzano (featured in the photo above) believes ASHA support for Cochlear devices “takes the strain” out of streaming, he said in an official Amazon blog. Forzano was born blind and has used cochlear implants ever since he lost his hearing at five years old. Forzano, along with members of Amazon’s affinity group for people with disabilities, AmazonPWD, helped test the tech.
Before using the new feature, Forzano was unable to enjoy watching TV. “If I was trying to watch on the TV in the living room, I’d probably be missing out on, say, 40-50% of the words due to the echoing, the loss in quality, and due to the different voices that you might not be so familiar with,” Forzano said. “I’m really excited for the world that [ASHA support] is going to open up for me.”
Peter Korn, director of accessibility for Amazon Devices and Amazon’s accessibility teams, added that customers who use hearing aids want to hear the TV while also being able to clearly hear the people around them. So, Korn and his team worked with Cochlear to discover how to “bypass the implant’s microphones, stream audio from Fire TV directly into the implants, and prevent the audio from being degraded by noise and echoes,” the company wrote in its blog. Korn also claims that the technology works over living room distances.
Amazon’s collaboration with Cochlear is an extension of the company’s accessibility efforts. In April 2022, Amazon launched ASHA on Fire TV Cube (2nd Gen) for compatible Bluetooth hearing aids from Starkey, the hearing aid company that manufactures the Audibel, NuEar, MicroTech and Audigy brands.
“TV is a big part of our lives; we get our news and information through television, our entertainment, sports and music,” Ryan Lopez, director of Nucleus product management and marketing, said. “If you have a Cochlear Nucleus or Baha implant sound processor of the right generation and an Amazon Fire TV, you can pair those today and start using [this technology] immediately.”
Cochlear has spent multiple years working on streaming sound from smartphones directly to hearing devices, so smart TVs were the next logical step for the company. Cochlear’s Nucleus Sound Processors have built-in technology that lets users stream sound directly from a compatible Apple or Android device.
WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
The Quebec National Assembly will begin hearings today into allegations of violence and hazing in the world of major junior hockey.
This comes after claimants tried to launch a class-action suit against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and other leagues and teams, saying they were responsible for a \”toxic culture\” and a \”culture of silence\” that hides predatory violence, hazing, bullying, harassment, and assaults.
On Feb. 3 Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perrell refused to certify a class-action launched in 2020 with two former junior league players as lead plaintiffs: Daniel Carcillo and Garrett Taylor.
A third plaintiff, Stephen Quirk, who is a former QMJHL player, later joined Carcillo and Taylor in the lawsuit.
The suit covered events in the QMJHL, the Western Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey League, going back to May 8, 1975 — the date the Canadian Hockey League was founded.
Justice Perrell described the evidence from Quirk, Carcillo and Taylor and other former players who submitted written statements as \”horrific.\”
Judge calls plaintiffs \’genuine heroes\’
Carcillo, Taylor, and Quirk had claims against five hockey teams — the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the Prince Albert Raiders, the Sarnia Sting, the Moncton Wildcats and the Halifax Mooseheads.
The Halifax and Moncton teams belong to the QMJHL, which in addition to its teams in Quebec, operates six teams in the Maritimes.
Perrell described the three men as part of a group of elite athletes who left their families and hometowns to join teams with the hope of improving their skills.
Although the judge called the former players \”genuine heroes\” he said they failed to provide a \”workable litigation plan,\” and for that reason denied their request to certify a class-action lawsuit.
He said it was not conceivable that a singular class-action would deal with the \”evil that has persisted for half a century in amateur hockey.\”
The director of communications and head of diversity and inclusion at the QMJHL, said the league wants to reassure parents that their children will be safe. (Peter Evans/CBC)
\’I do not want any other child to go through what I did\’
As part of the decision, Perrell included the testimony of six unnamed former hockey players all of whom described months of abuse they endured as rookies on various teams.
A former hockey player identified as \”AA\” said the general manager of his hockey team told him not to be a \”pussy\” when the hazing got bad. He recalled getting jumped by veteran players in the locker room.
A player identified as \”FF\” said the coaches did not intervene.
\”This happened in the showers, on the bus, or elsewhere. The coaches and team staff saw and knew,\” said FF, adding that after he was traded, he experienced the same type of hazing.
\”My time in major junior hockey has left me mentally scarred. I\’ve lived with it my whole life […], but I cannot keep it secret anymore. I live with anxiety every day. I used to have nightmares, which I rarely have any more, but my anxiety is always there …. My story has been extremely difficult but am telling it because I do not want any other child to go through what I did.\”
Legault asked QMJHL \’to explain themselves\’
Last week, Premier François Legault said the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League could not remain silent. He called the abuse detailed by the judge \”very serious.\”
Quebec Premier François Legault was at a news conference, earlier this month at the legislature in Quebec City. Legault called on the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to provide a public explanation. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)
Isabelle Charest, the provincial minister responsible for sports, said reports of the abuse had left her speechless.
Charest said the independent complaints officer\’s mandate is to handle situations such as this one and noted that all sports federations must have a policy of integrity in place that ensures the environment is \”free of abuse, harassment and intimidation.\”
She said that funding for the federations is linked to them enforcing their integrity policies.
\’We don\’t want those kinds of players in our league\’: QMJHL official
Maxime Blouin, director of communications and head of diversity and inclusion at the QMJHL, said the league should have spoken out sooner following the decision on the class-action lawsuit.
He told CBC radio\’s Breakaway on Feb. 14, that these \”horror stories\” are completely unacceptable.
Breakaway10:46Former junior hockey players claim to have been victims of violent hazing practices, physical and sexual abuse
People across the province are shocked by recent allegations of sexual and physical violence in Canada’s junior hockey leagues. But the leagues themselves have stayed silent on these serious claims, until now. The head of communications for Quebec’s Major Junior League joins guest host Allison Van Rassel.
\”If [players] witness those kind of events they hav
e to speak up with us, with the police because those are criminal acts,\” said Blouin.
He said the players who committed those acts are the ones who should be held accountable for the culture of abuse. He says some of it is rooted in toxic masculinity.
\”You don\’t have to be that kind of a man to be part of a hockey team. That\’s not what we want for sports in 2023,\” Blouin said.
\”Because I was with some parents yesterday saying: \’I don\’t want my kid, my son or my daughter to play hockey anymore when I read that\’ and that\’s the image we want to change. We don\’t want those kinds of players in our league.\”
On Wednesday, the commission will hear from representatives from QMJHL, the Canadian Hockey League, Hockey Quebec, Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec and McGill University. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
He said he is confident this won\’t happen again because they now have mandatory training at the beginning of the season which includes videos, conferences and a visit by a police officer who explains the rules and laws to the players.
As the hearings get underway on Wednesday, the commission will hear from representatives from QMJHL, the Canadian Hockey League, Hockey Quebec and the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec.
A representative from McGill University will also be present after several MNAs criticized the university\’s initial refusal to participate in the committee hearings.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you\’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
The Quebec National Assembly will begin hearings today into allegations of violence and hazing in the world of major junior hockey.
This comes after claimants tried to launch a class-action suit against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and other leagues and teams, saying they were responsible for a \”toxic culture\” and a \”culture of silence\” that hides predatory violence, hazing, bullying, harassment, and assaults.
On Feb. 3 Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perrell refused to certify a class-action launched in 2020 with two former junior league players as lead plaintiffs: Daniel Carcillo and Garrett Taylor.
A third plaintiff, Stephen Quirk, who is a former QMJHL player, later joined Carcillo and Taylor in the lawsuit.
The suit covered events in the QMJHL, the Western Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey League, going back to May 8, 1975 — the date the Canadian Hockey League was founded.
Justice Perrell described the evidence from Quirk, Carcillo and Taylor and other former players who submitted written statements as \”horrific.\”
Judge calls plaintiffs \’genuine heroes\’
Carcillo, Taylor, and Quirk had claims against five hockey teams — the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the Prince Albert Raiders, the Sarnia Sting, the Moncton Wildcats and the Halifax Mooseheads.
The Halifax and Moncton teams belong to the QMJHL, which in addition to its teams in Quebec, operates six teams in the Maritimes.
Perrell described the three men as part of a group of elite athletes who left their families and hometowns to join teams with the hope of improving their skills.
Although the judge called the former players \”genuine heroes\” he said they failed to provide a \”workable litigation plan,\” and for that reason denied their request to certify a class-action lawsuit.
He said it was not conceivable that a singular class-action would deal with the \”evil that has persisted for half a century in amateur hockey.\”
The director of communications and head of diversity and inclusion at the QMJHL, said the league wants to reassure parents that their children will be safe. (Peter Evans/CBC)
\’I do not want any other child to go through what I did\’
As part of the decision, Perrell included the testimony of six unnamed former hockey players all of whom described months of abuse they endured as rookies on various teams.
A former hockey player identified as \”AA\” said the general manager of his hockey team told him not to be a \”pussy\” when the hazing got bad. He recalled getting jumped by veteran players in the locker room.
A player identified as \”FF\” said the coaches did not intervene.
\”This happened in the showers, on the bus, or elsewhere. The coaches and team staff saw and knew,\” said FF, adding that after he was traded, he experienced the same type of hazing.
\”My time in major junior hockey has left me mentally scarred. I\’ve lived with it my whole life […], but I cannot keep it secret anymore. I live with anxiety every day. I used to have nightmares, which I rarely have any more, but my anxiety is always there …. My story has been extremely difficult but am telling it because I do not want any other child to go through what I did.\”
Legault asked QMJHL \’to explain themselves\’
Last week, Premier François Legault said the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League could not remain silent. He called the abuse detailed by the judge \”very serious.\”
Quebec Premier François Legault was at a news conference, earlier this month at the legislature in Quebec City. Legault called on the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to provide a public explanation. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)
Isabelle Charest, the provincial minister responsible for sports, said reports of the abuse had left her speechless.
Charest said the independent complaints officer\’s mandate is to handle situations such as this one and noted that all sports federations must have a policy of integrity in place that ensures the environment is \”free of abuse, harassment and intimidation.\”
She said that funding for the federations is linked to them enforcing their integrity policies.
\’We don\’t want those kinds of players in our league\’: QMJHL official
Maxime Blouin, director of communications and head of diversity and inclusion at the QMJHL, said the league should have spoken out sooner following the decision on the class-action lawsuit.
He told CBC radio\’s Breakaway on Feb. 14, that these \”horror stories\” are completely unacceptable.
Breakaway10:46Former junior hockey players claim to have been victims of violent hazing practices, physical and sexual abuse
People across the province are shocked by recent allegations of sexual and physical violence in Canada’s junior hockey leagues. But the leagues themselves have stayed silent on these serious claims, until now. The head of communications for Quebec’s Major Junior League joins guest host Allison Van Rassel.
\”If [players] witness those kind of events they hav
e to speak up with us, with the police because those are criminal acts,\” said Blouin.
He said the players who committed those acts are the ones who should be held accountable for the culture of abuse. He says some of it is rooted in toxic masculinity.
\”You don\’t have to be that kind of a man to be part of a hockey team. That\’s not what we want for sports in 2023,\” Blouin said.
\”Because I was with some parents yesterday saying: \’I don\’t want my kid, my son or my daughter to play hockey anymore when I read that\’ and that\’s the image we want to change. We don\’t want those kinds of players in our league.\”
On Wednesday, the commission will hear from representatives from QMJHL, the Canadian Hockey League, Hockey Quebec, Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec and McGill University. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
He said he is confident this won\’t happen again because they now have mandatory training at the beginning of the season which includes videos, conferences and a visit by a police officer who explains the rules and laws to the players.
As the hearings get underway on Wednesday, the commission will hear from representatives from QMJHL, the Canadian Hockey League, Hockey Quebec and the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec.
A representative from McGill University will also be present after several MNAs criticized the university\’s initial refusal to participate in the committee hearings.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you\’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
![](\"https://i.brecorder.com/large/2023/02/22184224fa1430b.jpg?r=184238\")
![](\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Fire_TV_ASHA_Cochlear_2.jpg?w=711\")
![\"A](\"https://i.cbc.ca/1.6755526.1677015477!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_780/hockey.jpg\")
![\"Quebec](\"https://i.cbc.ca/1.6748650.1676419206!/fileImage/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/original_780/junior-hockey-abuse-20230214.JPG\")
![\"Closeup](\"https://i.cbc.ca/1.6755566.1677016323!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_780/hockey.jpg\")