Notre Dame's `Old Boys' accused again of bullying young hockey players
We all knew about “Old Boys” and “New Boys.”
Anyone involved in hockey in southern Saskatchewan had been to Wilcox, the small-town home of numerous Hounds teams and to a school that in the early 1980s was officially named in honour of its founder, a Catholic priest, to become Athol Murray College of Notre Dame. Mainly a high school that offered a few university classes to a nearly all-male enrolment, it became a legendary hockey factory with a well-established hierarchy and evidently just another example of the sport's abusive culture.
Needed your laundry done? Dormitory room cleaned? Call a New Boy.
How about a coffee? “Hey, New Boy!”
Between periods at the old hockey rink, those were New Boys moving nets and shovelling snow.
Old Boys, the senior students at Notre Dame, could get away with virtually anything under the guise of toughening up the newcomers. Just like the remnants of today's intimidating, macho and entitled Old Boys Club and the cultural stain it's leaving on hockey.
Out-of-town players and officials believed it was unkind to treat the New Boys that way, but around here many thought the coffee delivery was nothing more than a lighthearted freshman initiation. It never seemed to be a repulsive form of hazing, with abuse that took a physical and psychological toll on its victims. The behind-closed-doors stories, which started surfacing years later, called that into question.
There's now another report about alleged abuse at Notre Dame.
Rick Westhead, a full-time investigative reporter with TSN, wrote an article this week about a former student who filed in Saskatchewan's Court of Kings Bench “a lawsuit alleging he was a victim of sexual, physical, mental and emotional abuse during his time at (Notre Dame).” An amount being sought wasn't listed but Westhead said lawyers earlier requested $2 million to settle.
The story names the student, who attended the school in 1987-88, because Westhead was granted permission to reveal his identity hoping it might convince others to go public.
The student wanted to become an elite hockey player, but alleges his promising career ended following one bantam AA game after getting punched in the face by a coach. Although none of the claims have been tested in court, Westhead's story also tells of the alleged victim suffering numerous beatings and being forced to eat food cooked in Old Boys' urine.
Similar incidents were mentioned in two earlier suits filed against the school — in 2021 by Todd Tisdale, who sought $1.75 million for abuse he described from 1986, and in 2022 by the parents of Colton Phillips, who described trauma inflicted by a dormitory supervisor a few years prior. According to Westhead, Tisdale's case is ongoing and the Phillips family settled out of court. These types of stories have been appearing regularly in the hockey world, reminding us of the bullying from an earlier era that has supposedly disappeared.
It started with former Swift Current Broncos coach Graham James sexually abusing his WHL players in the 1980s. After James was found guilty, other victims started coming forward. Bernie Lynch, a former assistant coach with the Regina Pats, is trying to appeal the three-year sentence he was recently given for sexually assaulting a 17-year old prospect 35 years ago.
During this WHL season two coaches, Kevin Constantine of the Wenatchee Wild and Swift Current's Devan Praught, were suspended for inappropriate conduct.
The WHL allowed Bill Peters to coach the Lethbridge Hurricanes, a controversial decision because he was fired by the NHL'S Calgary Flames for making racial comments to players. The Chicago Blackhawks were reprimanded for a video coach sexually assaulting a player.
Mike Babcock resigned from the Columbus Blue Jackets for prying into the private lives of his players.
Hockey Canada is dealing with issues from two of its teams attending world junior championships, including the 2018 squad, which just had five of its players arrested on sexual assault charges.
It's more than bullying. It's entitlement, caused partly by the way hockey players and coaches are idolized — and feared — in this country.
Dozens of athletes played professionally after attending Notre Dame. Many are proudly immortalized, photographed wearing their pro team's jersey, inside the school's arena. The hockeydb.com website lists numerous alumni, including former and current Nhlers Curtis Joseph, Rod Brind'amour, Scott Pellerin and Jaden Schwartz. They're exemplary people, part of a program that no longer seems exemplary.