The future commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (LHJMQ), Mario Cecchini, answered for the first time on Tuesday questions from Quebec elected officials about the future of semi-professional hockey. After so many years of violent initiations passed over in silence, “there must be something punitive”, he insisted.
Mario Cecchini, still for the moment president of the Montreal Alouettes, appeared before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday. The league he will lead is under fire for having tolerated for years toxic behavior, even sexual assault, among its approximately 400 players.
“I want it to be clear and indisputable that no team or locker room culture can serve to protect aggressors or prevent victims from speaking up. It will be zero tolerance for the intolerable, ”said Mr. Cecchini from the outset.
Complaints will be subject to independent follow-up, he insisted to parliamentarians. The commissioner must act in concert with the team owners on the “marketing” of the sport, of course, but for “everything related to the integrity of the game, the referees, the coaches, the safety and the well-being, this is where we must have independence”.
Asked by elected officials about his experience in managing complaints in the field of sports, Mario Cecchini notably traced the file of Alouettes player Christophe Normand, accused of luring a teenager.
“I got the call at 7:20 a.m. – at 9 a.m. we suspended the player,” he said. ” Of the [qu’on a pu le faire], we cut the player from our team. »
“I had to manage situations of a morning man in English Canada who had to take anger management courses,” added the former sports radio owner. “I had to manage animators to manage remarks…”
If the league must continue its “prevention” work, that is no longer enough. “Education and prevention will remain priorities within our mission. But, if there is a fault, there must be a sanction. These must be clear and known to everyone to avoid as many gray areas as possible. […] There has to be punishment. »
Protecting integrity, more than image
The culture of silence that prevailed in the QMJHL around attacks allowed the league to preserve its image, noted Liberal MP Enrico Ciccone, himself an experienced hockey player. However, “it was a problem to want to protect the image of the league”.
A “change of culture” is therefore necessary, replied Mario Cecchini. “The sooner we go out, the sooner we explain [le problème]the faster we manage it […] I think that’s protecting the integrity of the league, rather than the image. »
He who takes office on May 8, however, does not promise “deep” reform for next season. “When we talk about culture change, it doesn’t start on Friday and end on Monday. It’s going to be deep, it’s going to be long. That’s why I speak for the next few years. »
Mario Cecchini declined the invitation to detail some answers, because he is not yet hired by the league. “I would still have preferred to talk to you a few months after taking office,” he noted at the very beginning of his speech. He remains open to any political calls.
New allegations
A new case of sexual assault in the QMJHL came to the attention of the leaders at the end of last week, revealed a few minutes earlier Martin Lavallée, the current interim commissioner. “The players found themselves at a place to participate in an integration or initiation activity where activities with sexual connotations took place,” he succinctly revealed.
Pressed to provide details, he kept these secret so as not to reveal the identity of the victim. ” [Ça s’est déroulé] in the 1990s, in one of our formations, ”he simply added. “When I was informed of the situation, we carried out a quest for information which quickly led to the establishment of an independent investigation to ensure that we got to the bottom of the matter. »
Quebec elected officials then asked if the leaders of the QMJHL were aware of initiations that go wrong these days. “Who are still standing? No. Who happened? Yes “.
The parliamentary commission on initiations into the world of junior hockey continues on Wednesday and Thursday. The former coach of the Canadian hockey team, Danièle Sauvageau, and the president of the Assembly of members of the QMJHL, Richard Létourneau, will answer questions from elected officials.