(Quebec) The big boss of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) hopes that the admission of guilt of two former Victoriaville Tigers players, in a sexual assault case, will make more than one think.
What there is to know
- Two former Victoriaville Tigres players accused of sexual assault pleaded guilty this week.
- The QMJHL commissioner wants to meet with the leaders of the Victoriaville Tigres in the coming months, but he has ruled out an internal investigation for the moment.
- The QMJHL has implemented a series of measures to train adults who supervise young hockey players and to make them aware of the notion of consent.
- The sentence of the two ex-Tigers players is expected in the coming months.
“Young people still have an example today that no one is above the law. If you do stupid things, you will pay for it,” said QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini in an interview with The Press.
We have young people at the beginning of their lives who risk prison. I hope this will speak to many people.
Mario Cecchini, commissioner of the QMJHL
In a long interview, Mario Cecchini detailed the measures put in place by the League to prevent cases of sexual assault. He also committed to meeting the management of the Tigers in the coming months to provide feedback on this whole affair, but is not considering a formal investigation for the moment.
Nicolas Daigle and Massimo Siciliano, accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in the hours following their victory in the QMJHL President’s Cup final in June 2021, pleaded guilty on Wednesday. They will know their sentence later.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Former Victoriaville Tigres players, Massimo Siciliano (left) and Nicolas Daigle
The affair caused a stir in the world of Quebec hockey. It comes in the wake of the Hockey Canada scandal. Remember that a young woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by eight Junior Team Canada players in Ontario in June 2018.
Consent training
All these events have encouraged the League to do more, says the commissioner. Last year, documentary filmmaker Léa Clermont-Dion offered training on consent to hockey players. The 450 players will once again have to follow a webinar on the same subject this year.
Humans being human, we tended to excuse a gesture that may seem trivial in a context. There, we tell people that we must not excuse this, we must be inspired to intervene so that it does not go any further. The main message is to be alert.
Mario Cecchini, commissioner of the QMJHL
Coaches and staff are also trained on these sensitive issues. “Adults really have enormous pressure” at the moment in hockey, according to the commissioner. “It’s like being a parent of 25 children,” he illustrates, speaking of coaches.
“We cannot ask them to be hockey coaches, psychologists, educational advisors at the same time… We have surrounded them with specialists, there are more of them than before,” assures the one who succeeded Gilles Courteau.
In defense of young hockey players
According to the commissioner, the sexual assault that occurred after the Tigers’ victory in 2021 does not specifically reflect a toxic culture in hockey. Remember that one of the players filmed the attack before showing the video to teammates and a coach. It was ultimately the victim, accompanied by her mother, who went to a police station to file a complaint.
“When we talk about behaviors to be eradicated, it’s in society, not in hockey,” he says.
“I don’t trivialize behavior. But as in society, it is a tiny minority of our 450 players who have this kind of behavior,” says the commissioner.
I’m always afraid that people think that 50% of our young people are like that.
Mario Cecchini, commissioner of the QMJHL
The League therefore ensures that it takes the issue of sexual assault very seriously, as does the issue of initiations that go too far (remember that the QMJHL is the target of a request for collective action regarding hazing).
But the commissioner believes that it would be illusory to think that everything could be resolved overnight with training. He cites the example of cases of drunk driving which number in the hundreds each year in Quebec despite awareness campaigns.
Natasha Llorens, director of player services for the QMJHL, also indicates that the two former Tigers players convicted of sexual assault had received training at the Victoriaville CEGEP on the notion of consent.
“They had even seen a sexologist who came to talk about the notions of consent. So it’s not because things hadn’t been done,” she said.
However, the sentencing of the two hockey players, expected in the coming months, will certainly have a great impact. “I hope that if anything positive can come out of what happened, it is that it enlightens young people to prevent other unfortunate situations,” says Mario Cecchini.