Associated media – Associated media
The allegation of a sexual assault was reported to the police in 2018, when the players were members of Canada’s national junior team, and it has created an enormous firestorm over the years, even in a sport with a long history of similar accusations.
It led to a clean sweep of the board and leadership of Hockey Canada, the sport’s national governing body, provoked an exodus of sponsors, cut off government funding for the sport, spurred a parliamentary inquiry and prompted scathing rebukes from the public and from political figures, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
As members of the national junior team, the accused players won the 2018 world junior championships. Their high profile intensified the public reaction to the assault allegations. The junior championships are a TV-watching ritual in Canada that is second only to the Stanley Cup playoffs in television audience among annual sporting events.
The woman who has brought the accusation reported being sexually assaulted in June 2018, after a Hockey Canada fund-raising gala in London, Ontario. The police force in the city initially looked into the allegation in 2018, but dropped that investigation in 2019 without filing any charges.
The uproar faded until May 2022, when TSN, a sports television network, reported that Hockey Canada paid 3.5 million Canadian dollars, or $2.6 million, to settle a lawsuit from the woman, identified in court records as “E.M.”
Connected media – Linked media
