Thread by @punchingprof

CW: sexual, physical, emotional abuse

🧵The @JustinTrudeau government doesn't seem to grasp the scale of the abuse crisis in 🇨🇦 sport, so here is another thread, this time about abuse in and around #Ottawa over the last 20 years. This is by no means an exhaustive list. 1/17

2004: A coach of an U15 soccer club pled "guilty to assault for tying the boy down, punching him in the stomach, pinching his nipples and applying various clips to them, poking the player's armpits with a nail, and whipping him with a rope. 2/17

National Post, 17 December 2004.

2004: "A soccer coach accused of fondling one of his female players in his swimming pool was acquitted Tuesday even though the judge in the case...thought he probably was guilty." 3/17

Canadian Press, 21 December 2004

2005: Parent of a 10 year old hockey player threw a puck at a 14-year-old referee. The parent defended his violent act: "well, what am I supposed to tell my kid when they lose the game because of a bad referee?' 4/17

Ottawa Citizen, 1 April 2005

2005: Parent charged for slamming a referee's head into the boards. This was detailed as part of an interview with Ottawa District Hockey Association's ref-in-chief Steve Sleigh. 5/17

Ottawa Citizen, 1 April 2005

2005: The Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association bans a hockey parent from local arenas after they attacked a player. 6/17

Edmonton Journal, 9 May 2009

Things did not improve. In 2005-06, there were 15 reported cases of physical abuse of officials. In 2006-07 it went up to 43. These are just the numbers for minor hockey. Add in junior and there's even more. 7/17

Ottawa Citizen, 17 January 2008

2014: Hockey coach "Kelly Jones, 58, pleaded guilty in April to sexual assaults involving 11 victims and spanning three decades." 8/17

cbc.ca/news/canada/ot…

In 2015, an Ottawa youth soccer coach was jailed for sexual interference against a person under the age of 16. They were sentenced to 90 days in prison. 9/17 ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new…

2018: 15-year old athlete accuses gymnastics coach of sexual assault. Coach had been active in "Region of Peel and has also coached in Oakville, Ottawa, and in Western Canada." 10/17

Ottawa Citizen, 31 January 2018

2018: A former Ottawa teacher and basketball coach dies two months before he is was supposed to stand trial for numerous sex crimes. He was accused by 15 people, mostly between the ages of 12 and 16. Alleged assaults occurred in the 70s and 80s. 11/17

ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new…

2019: Soccer coach Jimmy Zito charged with sexually assaulting a 17 year old. He was previously named coach of the year in 2011 by the Ottawa Sports Awards. Status/Outcome unclear. 12/17

ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new…

2019: Ontario Athletics issues lifetime ban to Andy McInnis and Dr. Ken Porter of the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club for accusations of sexual misconduct and assault. 13/17

athleticsontario.ca/athletics-cana…

2019: Water polo coach charged for "alleged incidents involving a teen girl over a period of months last year." Outcome unclear. 14/17

ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new…

2021-22: Teacher at an Orleans high school charged with 45 sex related crimes against minors. He was also the school's basketball coach and had a kids hockey academy. 15/17

cbc.ca/news/canada/ot…

2023: Most recently, gymnastics coach Benjamin Cooper was charged for "sexual offences that occurred between 2014 and 2022 involving seven victims – girls between 14 to 17 years old in the Ottawa and Kingston area." 16/17

ottawapolice.ca/en/news/gymnas…

That's a sample of what was reported in and around Ottawa. One city. There's more reports, and even more unreported. This thread alone covers #hockey, #soccer, #basketball, #waterpolo, #gymnastics, and #track. It's not one "bad" sport. Time for @JustinTrudeau to act. 17/17

Putting this on your radar, @PascaleStOnge_ @pfragiskatos @vankayak