A reproduction of the scene of George Floyd’s murder in the locker room. Nazi salutes to celebrate goals. Swastikas drawn on the desks. References made to the idea of “gassing Jews”. Threats to whip a black teammate.
These are some of the vile acts accused of six hockey players from the Gatineau U15 AAA team for the 2021-2022 season. These events are exposed in a confidential investigation report produced by lawyer Jules Bernier for Hockey Québec. A shocking document, the conclusions of which were revealed Thursday by journalist Justine Mercier, from Right. I also received a copy.
What I read deeply disturbed me.
Because beyond the unacceptable actions committed by the six teenagers, who intimidated two of their racialized teammates that season, the report also highlights the behavior of the adults who surrounded them. At home. At the arena. At school.
Where to start ?
By the most heinous event. A reproduction of the scene of the murder of George Floyd, this African-American who died at the end of his breath, in 2020, when police officer Derek Chauvin kept a knee on his neck for eight minutes. It happened in the locker room, with a black player on the floor. According to the report, “ [ça] involves taking the victim from behind and throwing them to the ground while asking them to say I can’t breathe before releasing her, all while taking care to close the locker room door so that this is done without the knowledge of other people.”
I emphasize that to carry out his investigation, Mr.e Bernier interviewed 48 people, including 12 players and 29 parents.
“The authors wanted to reproduce the scene that occurred in the case of George Floyd in the United States. Neither the management of Midget AAA Gatineau nor the school (even though this gesture was brought to the attention of two staff members who were part of the committee that carried out the internal investigation) reported this particular gesture, in particular to the police officer- educator associated with the school,” writes Me Bernier.
On several occasions, he points out, players told one or other of the victims to go “work in a cotton field”. On several occasions, he adds, players played the songs in the locker room I shoot N***** for fun And I hate a N****. “An author sang the songs while pointing the finger at the victims. »
Some young people used the word “slave” when talking about the victims, and pretended to put them up for auction. Players also made monkey noises in the presence of their black teammates. In parallel, Me Bernier reports several anti-Semitic gestures. Several times, players “performed a Nazi salute when a goal was scored in training as a celebratory gesture, as well as in the school hallways.”
In 2021-2022.
In Quebec.
It’s appalling.
In his report, Jules Bernier does not only blame adolescents. He also denounces the attitude of certain parents. “Several parents tended to minimize the effects of racist gestures and remarks on the victims, finding it normal that it could happen between 14-year-olds who were part of the same hockey team.” He adds: “Parents are not sufficiently aware of the seriousness of the consequences surrounding racist gestures and comments, even though they have an important role to play in terms of education and awareness raising among their children to prevent reprehensible acts. of this nature. »
These are not the only criticisms leveled at adults in the team environment. In another chapter, Me Bernier is very critical of the leaders of Midget AAA Gatineau, the club’s sports representative. In the days following the first denunciations, during the 2021-2022 season, the association decided to carry out an internal investigation, rather than directing the complainants to an independent officer. According to Me Bernier, “it was not done according to the rules of the art”.
“No independent third party was part of the committee, which casts doubt on its impartiality and places its members in a situation of apparent conflict of interest,” he notes. Also, the committee did not meet one of the victims, under the pretext that she had already left the team. However, underlines the report, the victim was part of the team “at the time she was the subject of racist gestures and comments. This victim was deprived of her right to be heard and the opportunity to express the impact these behaviors had on her.”
Me Bernier also deplores the way in which the interviews with the perpetrators of the racist gestures were conducted. ” Meetings [individuelles] of 14-year-old adolescents, faced with three adults, was in itself sufficiently intimidating for one to be entitled to wonder whether the confessions obtained from them were free and voluntary, or even whether they fully understood the scope of the alleged acts. . »
“The fact that the committee considered that it was not necessary to notify and meet the parents deprived the authors of the right to a full and complete defense and to be [soutenus] morally,” he adds.
After receiving this document, on December 7, 2022, Hockey Québec reacted. The federation has filed complaints against three local leaders with the Complaints Officer. According to The right, the Integrity Protection Committee (IPC) partially upheld two of the complaints. The one against Alain Sanscartier, director of operations of Midget AAA Gatineau, for his management of the case. Then that against the head coach, Stéphane Bertrand, for his negligence in the management of the allegations. According to the CPI, they were not aware of the actions before the denunciations. The two men still occupy positions in the structure of the Intrepids of Gatineau. In his report, Jules Bernier is also surprised that Stéphane Bertrand obtained three mandates while he “was still under his suspension from Hockey Quebec”.
“Given the essential role of any head coach and his responsibilities towards young players, it is surprising that the racist gestures and remarks that occurred over a period of almost six months towards young people under his responsibility are not better considered in the granting of future responsibilities. »
The six hockey players involved suffered various suspensions. Radio-Canada reported that three players received additional sanctions at the start of the season.
And the two victims?
They left the team, the school and the sports-studies program, reports Me Bernier. One because of “the lack of seriousness of the situation by the leaders”. The other, “for his personal well-being”. A cruel lack of fairness which shows us once again that in elite sport, intimidation is not sufficiently punished.
Who does what?
Complaints Officer
Its role is to receive complaints of abuse, harassment, neglect or violence under the integrity policy. Also, he sees to offering his support to the complainant and judging the admissibility of the complaint.
Integrity Protection Committee
Made up of 3 independent people, its role is to process the complaint via an independent and impartial hearing procedure and to offer its conclusions and recommendations on the situation.
These entities were created in 2020 by the Quebec government to allow athletes who are victims of abuse or harassment to file a complaint with an independent body rather than going through their federation.