Sex abuse ‘code of silence’ still runs deep in Canadian sports, says former league head
Global News
The national scandal embroiling Hockey Canada is highlighting what one former league commissioner called the 'code of silence' in the sport.
The national scandal embroiling Hockey Canada in sexual assault allegations shows how deep the “code of silence” in sports still runs — and many Canadians probably “can’t handle the truth,” says the former head of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.
She says breaking that silence is the only way to try to fix the problem.
“I have seen it and I’ve done everything I can to try to change it in my own voice,” said Brenda Andress, former commissioner of the league and now president of SheIS, a group that works to grow and support women’s sporting leagues.
“We also knew that we had to follow the policies and the codes and the rules in order to get money, in order to get sponsorship deals, in order to be a part of the ‘boys’ network.'”
She said for many, recognizing the extent of the problem can be hard to accept.
“Being in the sports world as long as I have been, there is a code of silence. There’s a culture that we have created, and I think most of us can’t handle the truth that’s out there — that’s really going on in our sports world,” Andress continued.
“It’s time that we take a look at it in a lot deeper avenue than we’re currently doing.”
Andress was commissioner of the Canadian women’s league for 12 years.
