Putting the respect back in hockey

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/03/2011 (5355 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After a thrilling minor hockey playoff game your child comes off the ice and tells you about a comment made to her/him about skin colour, religion or economic background.

Maybe you saw the coach of an 8A1 team bellowing F-sharps at a 13-year-old referee because he waved off an icing. Or you are a coach and some kid’s dad pushed you into a door because it wasn’t his son’s turn to play goal that day.

Been there, saw that, wondered what to do?

Now you can do plenty, says Hockey Winnipeg president Don McIntosh, who along with executive director Dianne Woods are introducing the Hockey Winnipeg Respectful Hockey Policy, which will be implemented this fall.

Get ready, minor hockey players, parents, spectators and officials. You are about to be held accountable for your behaviour and be protected as a participant. The move is afoot to return the respect factor to hockey.

“We’re on a path here of unbelievable change in hockey,” said McIntosh, noting the policy applies to literally anyone associated with the game of hockey under the Hockey Winnipeg jurisdiction. “If you think you can go in the corner of the hockey rink and say something to a player and no one else hears it and nothing can be done about it, well, something can be done about it, based on this policy.”

McIntosh has personally dealt with some heartbreaking cases where children have been discriminated against in hockey by other players and parents.

“I had one dad ask me ‘What are you going to do to protect my children?’ and this policy relates exactly to that,” McIntosh said. “Somebody needs to protect the opportunity of these children to play in a safe environment.”

This fall, everyone registering for minor hockey will be given a pamphlet explaining the Respectful Hockey Policy. Parents will be required to sign off that they are aware of the policy. The policy will be posted on the Hockey Winnipeg website in the fall.

“We will be working hard to promote the education and awareness of the policy,” McIntosh said.

“It was based on a number of activities that happened last year, (situations) of disrespect, racial slurs as well as issues associated with bullying, things like the Internet, Facebook. There was some investigation on those matters and we realized that Hockey Canada has a policy on Respect in Sport and there’s a requirement for us to have a policy that encompasses the laws of Manitoba.”

A local human rights lawyer assisted in writing the policy, which was approved Feb. 1 by the Hockey Winnipeg executive.

“There’s a lot of focus on the physical and verbal abuse of officials but when you get right down to it, it’s about respect and we need a vehicle to educate people on that,” McIntosh said.

“The other part of it is we need to broaden the opportunity for all children, regardless of background, to participate. Visible minority kids are not attracted to the game for a number of reasons but in some cases, there’s not a welcoming approach to those participants. This policy can be utilized for education to change that.”

Woods, who deals with many complaints informally every day, said sometimes good people behave badly in and around the game of hockey.

“Sometimes the thinking part of some people’s brains just shuts off and they say or do something they would never say or do in another environment,” she said.

Woods said the parents’ role as supporters of their children in hockey is of great importance but also very simple.

“I like to say ‘Drive, cheer, pay,’ that’s the perfect formula for parents,” Woods said.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca