Bettman: NHL won’t tolerate abusive behaviour past, present
MONTEREY, CALIF. — Commissioner Gary Bettman says the National Hockey League is working fast to better deal with personnel conduct issues in the wake of incidents that surfaced recently.
Speaking at the end of the first day of the board of governors meeting Monday in Pebble Beach, he said NHL personnel will be required to attend mandatory counselling regarding racism and antibullying. Bettman also talked about the formation of a hotline for people to call to report any such incidents.
“Inclusion and diversity are not simply buzz words. They are foundational principles of the NHL,” Bettman said. “Our message is unequivocal: We will not tolerate abusive behaviour of any kind.”
Bettman’s comments were his first publicly since former NHL player Akim Aliu alleged that former Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters previously directed racial slurs toward him while in the minor leagues a decade ago. Peters, who has also been accused of physical abuse while coaching Carolina, resigned following the accusations by Aliu.
While Bettman said that the NHL is conducting its own review of the PetersAliu allegation, the commissioner made it clear that there will be zero tolerance from the league moving forward.
To that end, Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the board about a multi-point plan designed to curb any further issues, while allowing coaches to still do their job.
Included in the proposed plan:
Teams will be required to immediately report any incidents of inappropriate behaviour by club personnel that has been brought to their attention. Failure to do so will result in “severe discipline.”
Swift, severe punishment for those involved in any future or past incidents that are brought to the NHL’s attention.
A mandatory annual counselling program that all NHL coaches, assistant coaches, minor league coaches, general managers and assistant general managers must attend. The program, which will be created by professionals in the field outside of the NHL, will focus on consciousness-raising, education and training on diversity and inclusion. The players association and coaches association will be consulted in the formation of the program as well.
Formation of a disciplinary counsel that will be run under the direction of NHL executive v-p Kim Davis.
Bettman also spoke about the possibility of creating a hotline for people to call to report incidents of abuse, racism or other things that might fall into a “grey area” as Bettman referred to it.
Bettman said he has full support from the board regarding the code of conduct.