As long as there is huge amount of money involved they try to make these things disappear and it sucks. On the positive note, absolutely beautiful shirt!

Like a lot of us I grew up playing hockey. I remember being a kid and one of my friends that lived a couple doors down was a great hockey player. I still remember asking him questions on how to do certain dekes, or how to shoot as accurately and with as much power. I always thought it was odd that a lot of times he would simply say "I'm special, I'm gifted". As a kid I didn't really understand what that meant. Fast forward a decade and a bit later I'm having some drinks with my old man and he asks "How about so and so that lived down the street- how did he turn out?" to which I said that I lost contact with him and that I hadn't ever seen him at parties or anything. I mentioned how he always use to say how he was special and gifted and my old man cut me off almost immediately and said "Yeah, that was his parents. They use to talk non stop about how good their kid was and that he was going to the NHL." I thought that was interesting because... he didn't. He didn't even make it to the OHL or any similar high level league. So here's a kid who by contrast to an NHL'er is a mediocre hockey player at best... and he was told his entire life how good he was. I cannot imagine the ego some of these hockey players have from being idolized by kids, envied by their friends, and babied by their parents. It's no wonder some of them fly off the handle and do ugly ass shit and expect to get away with it. They think they're gods. They think they're immune to the law.

The first 45 seconds of this video should be required viewing for all sports fans.

Absolutely right Shannon, especially in the case of narcissistic personalities (which a decent sized proportion of athletes are), the private and behind closed doors behaviors can be atrocious and its another example of how backwards the world is.

This is not just a Hockey Canada problem, or a hockey problem. Or a sports problem. It’s society as a whole. The fact is that people in power (social, economic, political, etc.) use their status as a protection to get away with doing despicable things. Is every famous person a scumbag? No. But we need to stop putting everyone whose product we like up in a pedestal.

Always love your honest takes on hard stuff like this. Thanks again man!

Well said, Shannon. This is an unfortunate situation for everyone involved and I would imagine that this is just the tip of the ice-berg in regards to similar stories and further accusations coming out.

The secret slush fund absolutely BLEW my mind. That's MAFIA kind of shi* .. ALL the heads of Hockey Canada need to be FIRED immediately & investigated for criminal activity. Covering-up crimes IS A FKN CRIME! #awfulEverything

Punishment needs to be swift and severe. It doesn’t ever seem like it’s enough of a deterrent. There needs to be serious consequences to actions.

This isn’t a “hockey” thing. From the beginning of time, people with money, power, fame have a different set of rules than everyone else.

Dany Heatley wrecked his Ferrari, killing teammate Dan Snyder, and never took a breathalyzer. Lots of home town heroes get off and we never hear about it. Some season tickets, cash and merch exchange hands, but nudge wink is a way of life when celebrities meet the police.

The language we use to talk about this stuff matters and it’s really disheartening to keep hearing “they’re teenagers they’re gonna make dumb mistakes” and things like that. Rape and sexual assault is not some frivolity of youth. It’s not a “dumb” thing you do when you’re a kid. It’s a crime and needs to be treated as such. Chaperones to step in if they see something? Fine, but only because it might save some victim from further trauma, not because “well boys will be boys and we better wag our finger at them when they get to acting up.” Then those players that are stopped should be immediately reported to the police of something happened. Or, if it was stopped prior to happening they should immediately be expelled from hockey Canada.

One thing to note: entities other than the criminal justice system do not have to act by the standards of the criminal justice system. Being blackballed from playing for your country does not necessarily require "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt". Playing for your country and playing professionally are privileges, not rights; Hockey Canada, the NHL, and other similar organizations have the right to investigate and mete out punishment on a standard more like "preponderance of evidence". Remember that Kenesaw Mountain Landis made the Black Sox permanently ineligible even though they were found not guilty in court.

The amount of victim shaming I've seen on social media since the 2018 allegations were made has been beyond appalling.

Rick Westhead on the SDPN was a hard listen.

Very well presented talk on a sad,sleazy aspect of sports.

lol everyone saying as a canadian citizen this as a canadian citizen that. This shit happens in all walks of life ppl need to get over themselves. The ego trip will never go away shannon given how extremely hard it is to make the NHL they are better than millions of ppl but they just have to realise theyre not above the law.

Jesus just searched up Victoriaville. These cases just pop up daily now. This is disgusting, and this needs to start making people really question their admiration for athletes and celebrities.

This is absolutely the best video you've ever created. A message most people in the hockey world don't want to hear or refuse to discuss. Good on ya 👍

If anyone looks into the actual details of the story, just a warning that it’s pretty disgusting

This was very thoughtful commentary. I appreciate you saying that it’s difficult to watch the NFL sometimes. In the States, that is never considered, fans let every awful behavior just wash away.

Thank you for your coverage on this,. Even if there isn't major justice, things need to change and the players responsible need to held accountable for their actions.

Shannon, I know you probably don't enjoy these more heavy topics, but you capture and articulate these issues so incredibly well. Being in love with the game of hockey should not feel like it comes with social baggage, and it feels like every year it gets heavier because of these kinds of incidents. Hopefully this is a tipping point and we see some positive shifts moving forward.

Thank you for covering these stories and giving them the weight they deserve. It's not easy to hear and even harder to talk about openly. This is a hockey problem, it's been seen time and again. But more than that it is a sports problem and a societal problem. It would not surprise me if athletes have a higher rate of sexual assault than others outside of sports but this is what happens when you treat people like living gods, they start believing they can do whatever they want.

This was a really thoughtful analysis. Great job, THG.

i’ve been waiting for this video

Great video Shannon, I think it's very important for people to understand what you said here. Guilty people deny what they did all the time, and just because a player hasn't released a statement yet denying being involved that doesn't mean they did it. Also the context behind Bettman saying it isn't an issue in hockey, knowing that he had to say that regardless of what his personal opinion is because he's beholden to the owners is also important. I totally understand that what happened was abhorrent and I hope the players responsible are punished and Hockey Canada is reformed, but the public is firing bullets at people in all directions and some of it is misfounded.

So much of it is entitled hockey parents, who teach their kids that they’re perfect and can do no wrong. Of course, it’s not all parents, and not all hockey players. A lot of the best people I know played hockey, as well as a lot of the biggest assholes I’ve known. It all comes down to parenting.

THANK YOU FOR THE WORDS YOU CHOOSE FOR THE FIRST 60 SECONDS!!! THANK YOU!!! Many people dont know this and never were told, I guess! YOU DONT KNOW THE FAMOUS PERSONS!!! (GOOD as well as BAD!)

What is the statute of limitations when looking at the 2003 team? I'm not familiar with the law in Canada

looking at the years involved, this kind of places the Logan Mailloux story in perspective with the culture that is present. with the difference that his case was not muted and he kinda took responsibility compared to other unnamed players

The only way this stops (or slows, there will always be predators) is if these young players learn there are consequences for their actions. The reason it's been so rampant is because they know they will get away with it. We need strong, clear consequences.

Kyle Beach proves there is a huge problem in professional sports

I do love that you adress these heavy topics, it needs attention. At the same time, if you "drop the gloves" in a bar, you will get arrested......

What I really don't like about Hockey Canada is they have a fund to pay off sex crime settlements but they don't fund prevention such as education (can't believe this is needed) to teach players to not assault women.

How can I buy the jersey you are wearing?

If you think this happens only in Canada I don't know what to tell ya, I'm the same damn thing is happening with USA hockey. It's not just a Canada problem it's a world problem!

Great video! It is important to cover the dark side of hockey; my son is a Jr player and I have counseled him on these matters.

The fact TSN and Sportsnet barely posted anything about the Darryl Katz situation is suspect. Other news outlets had it covered extensively, why are Canada's two prominent sport's channels not covering that? If it's cause they are afraid of losing access or preferential treatment from a team, then it's pretty shameful.

Absolute 🔥 of a jersey! Love it! Agree 100% with your take of hockey and sports in general. Sports does and continue to have a problem. Until they admit it and can up with how to address it. NBA,MLB and now NFL ,sorry to say. NFL makes me want to puke how fast they have regressed.but yeah,hockey too, unfortunately. 😢

What are the allegations in these cases?

also I wouldnt be surprised if USA Hockey has issues as well.

Sick sweater my man

What happened? I do not know what the 2018 "incident" was or what the current allegations are. ?

What actually happened? I cannot find it and even if I do I could not connect it, there is no info in this video, just comments :)

19 years later here about

I agree wholeheartedly with your opinion that the denials should be disregarded. Here in the U.S., we have constructed rituals for how to deal with public relations crises. It's all about generic statements to the media. They are carefully written to avoid admitting to any civil liability. The Pavlovian news media attend the press conferences and then spend endless hours discussing the statements: who delivered them, how that person looked and sounded, did they strike the correct tone, was the statement given "too late," what promises were made, and so forth. By the time any action can be taken, everyone has moved on to the next scandal, so no action needs to be taken. Finally, the stories die when the guilty parties settle out of court and non-disclosure agreements are signed. No one rich and powerful has been severely inconvenienced and then it's business as usual. I am skeptical that 24/7 news media and social media are more likely to hold the offenders accountable, since they have helped to shorten our attention spans.

As the old saying goes Shannon "never meet your heroes"

..big furor when the Habs drafted Millieux....will the "gang bangers" from 2003 be outed or will the league cover stuff up..

off topic.... you should have a THG jersey in all 32 teams colors. just my thought.

When you consider how all the Chicago Blackhawk leaders denied knowing anything about the Kyle Beach incident, why would you expect anything better from entitled junior players? But the lack of leadership at Hockey Canada is nauseating. Doubtless, they'll reassure us they will implement real change to ensure this never happens again. The sleaze and lack of accountability is disgusting. Prosecute everyone involved.

Love how reasonable/analytical you are.

Fotball players cant hide behind a lawyer firm in EU no matter how talented he/she is Mendy in Manchester City is one of many severe cases.

"its a joke between myself and myself" haha love it. I'm freakin hilarious if you ask me

Theres good things in sports that should stay like on court/ ice/ field rivals being friends off it and bad stuff like this and ego massaging that needs to be binned off

The only player still in the NHL from the 03 canada juniors would be Fleury if i remember correctly

Is it Darryl "Kates"? I always thought it was Darryl "Cats" haha, I live in Europe so you never hear anyone speak his name here.

I knew a few guys at a previous job who played some level of juniors as teenagers. One of them said the coach told him, at 15, he would never make it so he might as well start drinking now and handed him a beer. I knew him in his 20s and he definitely seemed to have a problem with drinking.

what did virtanen do?

There is plenty more to uncover I think.

It's so cynical and so accurate to talk about the NHL needing a plan and just knowing that it will do absolutely nothing. I would love to be proven wrong about their "investigation" on the 2018 Hockey Canada issue, but I won't be surprised if absolutely nothing from them comes out without that video being leaked

can someone update me on this topic i am completely lost 😭

What went on not familiar with the situation?

This is a fair and honest take on the subject. Shining light on a sad reality of the world not just the sporting world. Hopefully it's taken very seriously and solutions to scary problems are found.

As a Sens fan… the silence by players on the team in relation to the world juniors assault is damning….

Uhm, that doesn't really fit with Benning resigning Virtanen and thus letting Tofolli walk tho. If they wanted to get rid of him that should've been the time, no?

Seems like these stories come out more and more now people still have the Blackhawks fresh in there memory and clearly looks like serious problem at every level

Last time you made a video about this, I said we would probably never know who was involved. Boy, was I wrong. With everybody trying to protect their back, we will easily be able to pin point who are the culprit. I kind of hope that none of them are in the NHL, but that is probably a pious wish.

Youngsters+alcohol+drugs+partying/clubbing= DISASTER. These places are RIPE for sexual assailt and rape. They are also ripe for FALSE accusations of rape and sexual assault.

certain players you can get a pretty good read on such as beliveau ratelle etc very classy

Both Katz and the dancer have denied the allegations. They are part of a case she has brought against her former instructor and his wife.

send a girl home in the cab the next day and they are super insulted and get pissed off....but i also dont doubt jake was aggresive being as drunk as he was. im curious to see the ruling on this one.

I can't say anything further but just be prepared to hear the name Joffery Lupul likely come up in the news in the coming weeks/months.

Finally. Was worried whether you weren't even going to comment on this.

Glenn Anderson. A backyard pool. Wtf, comes to mind...

Champions are Champions when you can set a high bar for others to look up to and not go dumpster diving in the trashiest landfill

Hockey has always had a culture problem. But its not just hockey, a lot of team sports have these issues. For every step forward (Luke Prokop) there are a lot of steps back. I really do think hockey culture has improved a lot in the 20+ years I have watched, but its not enough.

They say no tax goes to settlements but even if that's true if they need more tax money cuz they used the other money for settlements that's the same thing as using it

The problem also persists towards our justice system. It is very hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that sexual assault has taken place. Which is reasonable when considering how our law in constructed but devastating for victims. Something has to change and it’s bigger than sports.

Just remember the presumption of innocence. It's of ultimate importance.

Beautiful jersey hockey guy!!

What i hope happens but almost surely won't happen, is not only for the people committing the crimes gets a punishment BUT also people who kept the silence all this time. For the 2018 hockey canada thing that happened, it got discovered from a financial investigation. Nobody reported it. Nobody talked ( as far as we know ) . This has to change.

As painful as these things are, I take it as a good sign this stuff is even coming out. There is no doubt it has always been there, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The fact we are even talking about sexual assault and harassment means the world is slowly changing. At the same time, focusing and speculating too much on individual cases is not necessarily the healthiest things us fans can do.

Imagine saying "this whole thing is about money and attention." when the issue revolves around Jake Virtanen.

That would be quite fucked up too penalize the young for acts that was done by others...

10000% agree with the whole not hero worshipping atheletes🙌 I support the team and the sport, I like certain players who are skilled as hell but I dont obsess over them because I only see what they want me to see through social media.

curbing the intake of alcohol for underage teenagers would be a start; not just a sports issue, but societal.

Canada should absolutely still play at the world Juniors. Why punish kids who did nothing wrong for the *alleged* wrongdoings of others? At most you can make them compete under "athletes of Canada" or something similar like Russia in the Olympics.

This is a problem and needs to be addressed somehow. Not just in sports and more over the problem with justice systems in the world over and how cases like this are handled. Its hard to prove in court and adversely when someone is falsely accused their reputation and career can be ended. very complex social issue as a whole. However clearly in sports the leagues need to step up and make some stronger policies to handle this at their own level and I agree mentoring from older players needs to be there. hopefully the older players doing the mentoring are good role models though. Very though topic to tackle. There isn't a shortage of cases involving athletes in pretty much every sport right now too....

us as members of HC shouldn't pay HC their fees this season. all the moneys from players across Canada should not pay the fees and HC should except that. no more money should go to them until they right their structure.

You get a click and a like because this shit is very important but I can't handle it right now.

Never forget that Mario’s teammate raped a girl in a hotel room while he was there, and when #66 was asked about it, he said he didn’t hear anything. And there’s people who actually think he’s better than Wayne. Those people aren’t very intelligent.

Go read Jordin Tootoo’s book. He talks about this team and there being some things going on behind closed doors with ladies…

Oh!

It would be silly to believe when you get this much money at play there wouldn’t be something in place to protect investments.

i heard messier used to get away with literal murder back in his oiler days

...the fund provides an incentive...

all I know is that Joffrey Lupul was definitely involved

You know Shannon is serious when the board is practically empty

Ok I been watching your videos for a while and finally subscribed because I want to say someting. Hockey is like anything in life its a organiztion divided into groups, ages, and overal human beings enjoying life just like dance, policitcs, music, theater, or even becoming a doctor or lawyer. 99.9 percent of hockey players and parents in Canada should not be put into this situation because they are just ordinary people who love the sport and are bright up the right way to treat and respect all indivuals in Canada and World wide. So this black eye on hockey in Canada is not there problem so dont put them in this situation. Is there a problem in hockey in Canada well of course there is but so is everything else in life, trying to get rid of the bad apples in life is like trying to fix humanity and good luck with that, But dont blame everyone else for a few bad apples.