Hockey Culture is Evil
I hate hockey culture, I hate covering hockey culture. I hate writing this article right now. I’d rather be doing anything else. I’d rather be reading about the new dictatorial move Donald Trump is making or what RFK’s newest plans are to eradicate my existence. Hockey culture is evil. I cannot stress this enough. It’s so evil that Joel Quenneville is getting hired as the new head coach of the Anaheim Ducks. He helped cover up sexual assault with the Chicago Blackhawks, now, he’s about to be given control of a team again. I’m sick. People are about to be put in danger because Pat Verbeek was a teammate of his and felt bad for him. There is no justification for this hiring. It’s blatantly evil and corrupt. It shows how little regard Verbeek has for the safety of those in the organization he runs. It also shows how the hockey world continues to refuse to learn anything. We had Kyle Beach come out and right now a trial is ongoing for alleged rapists who played for Team Canada in the 2018 World Junior Championship. None of that is enough for hockey man to start giving a damn about safety and taking sexual assault seriously. If all this isn’t enough, what will be?
No, seriously, what will it take for the hockey world to take sexual assault and abuse seriously? A mass rape committed by a player or coach? It feels like it. Why do others' lives matter so little? What will it take for others' lives to be taken seriously and thought of by the hockey world? Right now, it looks like nothing, or at least, next to nothing, will. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of people getting raped and hockey men covering it up. I’m tired of hockey media promising to do better and then not doing better. I’m tired of a new alleged rape or horrifying hazing incident happening every few months and then writing an article about it because mainstream writers refuse to do their jobs, so I have to read every graphic detail and destroy my mental health even more. I’m tired of every time an allegation comes out, watching friends have to relive the sexual assault they experienced. I’m tired of every time an allegation comes out, having to relive the sex crime I was a victim of. I’m tired of there being no real consequences for any of these crimes. It’s evil. Allowing this to continue only harms, and not just the person who got raped. It takes away my joy of watching this sport and covering it.
How much longer must this go on? How many more lives must be ruined before it’s taken seriously? How many more fans and previous victims of hockey rapists must relive their trauma because no steps are taken to stop the constant rape committed by those in hockey?
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