SEXUAL ORGIES CAN BANKRUPT HOCKEY CANADA

The summer months of this year turned out to be a nightmare for the Hockey department of Canada. This happened after information was leaked to the media about sexual abuse carried out by several players of the youth national team after winning the 2018 World Cup. The positive reputation of the founders of the game collapsed. 13 regional branches of the National Hockey Federation (Hockey Canada) refused to transfer contributions to the head office.

The story began with the fact that in April 2022, a young woman filed a lawsuit against the Canadian Youth League, Hockey Canada and eight players whose names have not yet been disclosed. The 24-year-old plaintiff demanded $3.55 million in compensation for the sexual abuse of her, which the players carried out on June 19, 2018, after drugging her in a bar in London (Ontario).

A settlement agreement was concluded with the woman to pay compensation. This case would have remained unknown to the Canadian public if it had not been in the media. Soon hockey fans began to learn the terrible details of what happened.

It turned out that the sexual orgy organized by athletes is far from the first in the history of the club.

In July, the federation's managers were forced to give official testimony to a House of Commons committee. It turned out from them that similar compensation for sexual acts of violence had been paid to victims before. For the period from 1989 to 2022, the total amount of compensation was $8.9 million, and the number of recipients was 21 people.

The financing was handled by the "National Stock Fund". Its formation is carried out through money received from investors and membership fees. Now, according to a number of sources, the leaders of Canadian hockey may be obliged to return to the budget the funds that were spent on judicial compensation. It will be almost impossible to "wash" the reputation of the club after the scandal in this situation. And then the federation will need to be recreated from scratch.

The chairman of the Board of Directors of the hockey Federation recently submitted his resignation. Athletes of the youth team, who are preparing for the next start of a series of matches (it should begin in August), are finding it increasingly difficult to communicate with journalists.

The stands at the stadium in Edmonton cease to bring profit to the organizers.

And major sponsors (such as the telecommunications operator Telus or the retail giant Canadian Tire) cease cooperation with the federation. It is unlikely that it will be possible to receive subsidies from the state for the development of sports, while continuing to spend them on compensation for victims of violence. Left without funding, Hockey Canada may soon find itself financially bankrupt.