San Jose Sharks Sued for Sexual Abuse of Minors Cover Up
It’s not exactly a secret, but, the world of ice hockey is toxic. Morality does not exist in this sport. Unfortunately, an NHL organization has been accused of covering up sexual abuse of minors. It’s the San Jose Sharks who are at the center of this lawsuit. Let’s discuss.
The lawsuit focuses on Kevin Whitmer, a former coach for the San Jose Jr. Sharks. In the lawsuit are allegations that Whitmer violated USA Hockey rules on locker room and player contact conduct. The rules say, according to the lawsuit, that coaches are not allowed to be alone with players, and are not allowed to contact players via electronic means, without sending copies to parents. Unfortunately, if the allegations are true, Whitmer was often alone with underage players and contacting players one-on-one without parental knowledge.
Some important selections from the lawsuit include:
While coaching at Junior Sharks, WHITMER openly engaged in highly inappropriate and sexual behavior with his male, minor hockey players. WHITMER frequently touched the chest and abdomen of Jr. Sharks players in the locker rooms at Sharks Ice. WHITMER gave some Jr. Sharks players special attention including gifts and free private lessons. WHITMER requested that Jr. Sharks players sit on his lap in the locker room after private lessons. One or more of the Jr. Sharks players referred to WHITMER as a “pedo”, meaning pedophile. Parents of Jr. Sharks players noticed that WHITMER exhibited strange behavior and made them uncomfortable. One Jr. Sharks parent observed two young kids sitting on WHITMER’s lap, and reported this observation to a tournament coordinator at Sharks Ice. The tournament coordinator blew off the parent’s complaint. Another Jr. Sharks parent complained to a Jr. Sharks coach that WHITMER was a creep, that WHITMER’s decisions were guided by wanting power and control of his players, and that WHITMER engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior in front of players such as making out with his girlfriend. The Jr. Sharks coach did not take any action in response to this complaint. Another Jr. Sharks parent observed WHITMER alone with a kid in a Sharks Ice locker room, and confronted WHITMER directly about the concern.
….
Starting in 2021, WHITMER sexually assaulted Plaintiff in various ways. WHITMER gave Plaintiff group and/or private hockey lessons from April of 2021 through May of 2023. After their on-ice lessons, WHITMER would escort Plaintiff into one of the Sharks Ice locker rooms. While alone behind closed doors, WHITMER instructed Plaintiff to sit on his lap, wrapped his hands around Plaintiff’s waist and massaged Plaintiff’s chest and abdomen. Thereafter, WHITMER proceeded to sexually assault Plaintiff in various ways. WHITMER told Plaintiff he needed to participate in these after-lesson activities in order to medically evaluate him. Once WHITMER initiated the first instance of sexual misconduct, he proceeded to engage in this behavior with Plaintiff after nearly every lesson in one of the Sharks Ice locker rooms. Additionally, during this period of time, WHITMER frequently asked plaintiff to send him images of his chest and abdomen, and explicit photographs of him engaging in sexual acts.
I think those two sections from the lawsuit sum up what happened well enough. But, unfortunately, the allegations do not end with Whitmer. The Sharks, as stated in the opening paragraph, have been accused of covering up the abuse. The thing is: the organization did now. As you saw in the quotes from the lawsuit, people were made aware. The organization was told what was going on, and every time, the concerns were waved off or not acted upon. In another section of the lawsuit, it’s alleged that the program supervisor raised concerns to management about Whitmer “at least five to ten times during the 2018-2023 period.” In May 2023, the program supervisor was fired for “unknown reasons”. It’s alleged that the reasons were to silence the supervisor. In a statement to San Jose Spotlight, attorney Mark Boskovich said: “The San Jose Sharks organization that enabled the abuse engaged in cover-up type behavior. They had information they withheld from parents of sharks players that could have prevented this from happening. If these complaints had been taken seriously sooner this could have all been prevented.”
In May 2023, Whitmer left the program, and it’s alleged that the reason is that the Sharks knew what he was doing and forced him out. Whitmer left to become a youth hockey coach in Colorado. That said, that stint didn’t last, as in November he would be arrested with thirty counts of sexual abuse of minors and twenty-five counts of possession of child pornography.
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