Yorkton coach on probation for using profanity
Josh Bear sat silently as he listened to the recording of an incident he experienced in person: his hockey coach in a profanity-laced tirade directed at him.
Bear, 16, played for the midget AAA Yorkton Rawtec Maulers until recently. On Nov. 10, he was called into a room with head coach/general manager Kevin Rawlick and three unidentified adults. By himself and expecting a tongue lashing, Bear recorded the conversation on his phone.
“This is simple, Bearsie. I’m gonna to lose my (expletive) nuts here because every (expletive) time I try and deal with you, you get your (expletive) mom and dad involved. This isn’t (expletive) peewee, man,” Rawlick said.
“Sometimes as a leader you just gotta do (expletive). You were a (expletive) distraction today in practice, pouting and whining.”
At the end of the tirade, Bear was told he was being suspended and sent home for the weekend. Days later, he was released by the team. His equipment was left in a box outside the rink.
“It wasn’t easy, what I went through,” Bear said Wednesday at a joint news conference in Saskatoon.
“I really don’t think it should happen to anyone else.”
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations held the news conference with Bear and his father, Tim Bear — both are members of the Ochapowace First Nation — along with Ochapowace First Nation Chief Margaret Bear. Chief Bear and FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron called for Rawlick to be removed as Maulers coach and for an end to verbal abuse in minor hockey.
In a phone interview, Saskatchewan Hockey Association general manager Kelly McClintock said Yorkton Minor Hockey, which directly oversees the Maulers, has put Rawlick on probation and ordered him to complete the Respect in Sport program by Dec. 15. The course covers prevention of abuse, and bullying and harassment.
On Wednesday afternoon, Rawlick said in an email he will be issuing a statement “in the next day or so.” A representative of Yorkton Minor Hockey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Josh Bear said Rawlick had been swearing at him for the seven days before the incident he captured in the recording. It left him scared and intimidated, he said.
“Going into this meeting, I knew it was going to be more of a graphic meeting. So, I turned on my audio recording, just because I know, I was scared. I knew that having this, I kind of felt a little more safer,” he said. Bear made the entire three-minute recording available, saying it was the complete recording of the incident.
Tim Bear said when it comes to any issues involving a minor hockey player, a parent should be notified and involved if necessary.
“The way I felt was very upsetting — sending my child to that organization, looking for him to develop, not only as a young hockey player, but as an individual. That’s what I thought we were sending him there for. And to hear the tape of how they were developing him wasn’t what I was expecting from their organization.”
McClintock said he is happy with the way Yorkton minor hockey dealt with the incident.
“Unfortunately, in certain avenues of hockey, it tends to be somewhat of a culture, in terms of language. And it’s not the culture that we condone,” McClintock said.
“Certainly there are a lot of situations that have arisen from the season to date that has led to the coach and the frustration of the coach. And unfortunately, he used the language that he did as kind of an end part of the frustration that he’s been experiencing with some situations with the young man and the family.”
Josh Bear said the incident “screwed up” his midget year. He’s still signed with the AA Melfort Mustangs, but can’t play for another AAA team because he’s still locked in with the Maulers. He said he’s not sure if he will continue on with hockey at a higher level.
“It took a toll on me as a person. It’s kind of starting to take over my life in everyday aspects. So, really, I just want to see this guy removed and I don’t want to see this happening to any more upcoming athletes.”