Sports federations reacted on Saturday, following the launch by Quebec of an interdepartmental investigation to shed light on allegations of physical violence, psychological harassment and sexual assault against the women’s basketball coach Danny Vincent.
On Friday, Isabelle Charest, Minister responsible for Sports, Recreation and the Outdoors, Bernard Drainville, Minister of Education, and Pascale Déry, Minister of Higher Education, announced that they were uniting “to find solutions concrete measures so that such acts do not happen again”.
A survey of Montreal Journal revealed earlier that several former basketball players allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of Danny Vincent. We also learned that the former women’s basketball coach at the Rocher secondary school in Shawinigan, at Cégep Édouard-Montpetit and at Collège Montmorency, had notably been fired for having consulted child pornography in the workplace. Former elite player Élise Caron denounced her coach on the show I of TVA having been the victim of touching on his part, at the École du Rocher and, later, at the Cégep Édouard-Montpetit.
PHOTO FROM DANNY VINCENT’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Danny Vincent
The Quebec Student Sports Network (RSEQ) said it was “very concerned about the situation” and opposed “all forms of physical, psychological, verbal and sexual aggression”.
For its part, Basketball Quebec “unreservedly condemns the behavior reported in the media about Danny Vincent during his time as a coach in educational institutions in high school and college,” reads a press release. The organization encourages all victims of abuse or harassment to file a complaint on the “I file a complaint” platform, launched last February. It is also possible to contact Sport’Aide for support.
The interministerial investigation will focus in particular on “the administration, organization and operation of the schools and sports bodies concerned”, to shed light on “the management of situations involving any behavior that could compromise the physical or psychological safety of pupils and athletes,” the government wrote.
Already this year, three women’s basketball coaches from Saint-Laurent High School in Montreal have been apprehended and faced charges of sexual exploitation, sexual assault and sexual interference and incitement to sexual contact.
Need help ?
People who have been victims of abuse, harassment, neglect or violence in a sporting context can contact Sport’Aide at 1833 211-AIDE (2433).
With The Canadian Press