Abuse lawsuit: ‘This isn’t a CHL issue, it’s a hockey issue’
TORONTO — Brock McGillis wasn’t surprised by the abuse allegations detailed in the class-action lawsuit filed against the Canadian Hockey League.
He also says the sport’s problems run far deeper than the country’s top junior circuit.
“This isn’t a CHL issue,” McGillis said. “It’s a hockey issue.”
Former NHLer Dan Carcillo and ex-junior player Garrett Taylor filed a statement of claim Thursday against the CHL and its member teams with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on behalf of players who allegedly suffered abuse during their time in the league.
The CHL and its three member organizations — the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League — are listed as defendants, as are all 60 teams that play under the umbrella organization.
A statement from the law firm representing Carcillo, who played in the OHL from 2002-05, and Taylor, who played in the WHL from 2008-10, said the action “is on behalf of children ages 15-17 who were sexually and physically assaulted, hazed and otherwise abused while away from home and playing for CHL teams.”
Carcillo and Taylor both allege they suffered abuse playing junior, leaving them “permanently traumatized.”
The lawsuit seeks damages for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and a declaration that the teams and the leagues are vicariously liable for the abuse perpetrated.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
The CHL has declined to comment, saying it has not been served with court documents.
McGillis, who played in the OHL and semi-professionally before becoming a voice in sports for the LGBTQ community after he came out in November 2016, said the allegations aren’t a shock.
“I’ve been around hockey culture long enough to know this exists,” he said in an interview with the Canadian Press on Friday. “There was a lot of opportunity for Hockey Canada, the CHL to do something about it. They haven’t. “We’re turning a blind eye.” The lawsuit alleges — in graphic detail — a number of incidents from Carcillo’s rookie season with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting.
“Rookies were required to sit in the middle of the shower room naked while the older players urinated, spat saliva and tobacco chew on them,” the 46-page statement of claim alleges. “At least once, the head coach walked into the shower room while this was occurring, laughed and walked out.”
Another alleged hazing incident involving Carcillo, who would go on to win two Stanley Cups during his NHL career, and 12 other first-year players on a road trip.
“Rookies would be stripped naked and sent into the bus bathroom, eight at a time,” the statement alleges. “The older players would tape the boys’ clothes up in a ball, which were thrown into the bathroom. The boys were not allowed out until they were dressed, which could take hours.
“This took place in front of coaches and trainers.”
The lawsuit outlines a number of other alleged incidents — including “racist, sexist and homophobic slurs” being repeatedly directed at rookies.
“There’s thousands of stories like this,” McGillis said. “They should all be accountable.”
But he isn’t optimistic the lawsuit will lead to the “reckoning” some have claimed is coming.
“They’re going to create new panels, they’re going to create new committees … and it’s not going to change a damn thing.”
McGillis, 36, has made it his life’s work to push for change in hockey, a culture he views as toxic.
“I know what goes on still,” he said. “It scares me.”
Carcillo, who has admitted he became part of the problem later in his junior career, and McGillis have had numerous conversations.
“Dan’s an extreme case,” McGillis said. “He suffered a lot of abuse and also probably inflicted a lot of abuse, but these players are a product of an environment.
McGillis said the fixes are simple.
“The people that are running the leagues and organizations and associations need to get out of the way,” he said. “There’s too much need for power and control in hockey instead of worrying about what’s important — the kids playing.
“Once they realize that those things exist, they have to humanize the issues. There’s enough of us out there who have the lived experience, who talk about it openly. We’re seeing in society right now, when an issue’s been humanized to an extreme degree, like the Black Lives Matter movement, people are willing to learn and educate themselves.
“Why haven’t we done this in hockey? It’s because people at the top gate-keep it.”