In the late hours of Saturday night, Hockey Canada slipped major news to the media it had partially blamed for the outcry over rampant sexual abuse allegations: Andrea Skinner, Hockey Canada’s director and interim chair of its board of directors, was resigning, effective immediately.
Skinner was front and center in the news cycle this past week, when she appeared at a Canadian federal government hearing and claimed lights at arenas would not come on if, as was being requested by thousands of hockey players and fans, the Hockey Canada upper-management group had to resign. Her remarks were tone-deaf and confirmed that the bubble HC brass is working in is a massive one.
In the big picture, it doesn’t matter if HC and Skinner’s aggressive stance came from the board of directors themselves or the public relations firm Navigator Communications was the entity that this PR strategy devised in an attempt to steer them through waters of terrible optics. No matter who is to blame, the reality is this self-victimization-attempt by HC – which was trying to claim the sport was somehow being singled out in the “me too” era, as if it weren’t paying attention to all the other industries, private and political, that were and are dealing with abhorrent sexual abuse cases – has failed miserably.
Indeed, the bare minimum public relations Hockey Canada could have undertaken would’ve been to (a) acknowledge the amount of pain and anger out there, (b) recognize this could be the tip of the iceberg and (c) resolve that meaningful, immediate and positive change is necessary and on its way, then follow up with widespread, transparent action to that end. Instead, HC chose a different route, and came off as bitter and defensive.
It’s no wonder, then, that Hockey Canada has lost the crucial support of many member provincial hockey organizations and corporate leviathans including Tim Hortons, Nike, and Canadian Tire. Those companies pay out a ton of money to build their product’s impact and attaching your business’ reputation to a brand speeding its own demise in the larger community by failing to grasp the severity of its biggest problem is not a sound decision for your brand.
Hockey Canada has become radioactive, and that’s not because the media planned it that way. Taking legitimate ownership of an outrageous situation is arguably the most important part of dealing with something you truly wish to improve. You can’t effect change with someone or something that doesn’t believe it ought to be changed.
It’s also no wonder that Canadian politicians have latched themselves onto this Hockey Canada PR calamity. When power-wielders including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are openly discussing the prospect of HC dissolving and an entirely new national hockey governing organization, you know you’ve stepped into it big-time.
Ending abuse and taking every step possible to prevent abuse will not happen if we’re only giving lip service to the cause. This is why Hockey Canada must be ultimately judged by its actions. Even if they did say the right thing to say, it wouldn’t make an iota of difference if it weren’t followed up by change from the top tiers of the sport to the grassroots levels, and all points in between. But it’s difficult to invest trust, money and influence in an organization that is unprepared and unwilling to admit its errors and, if necessary, start from scratch.
Skinner’s resignation was necessary to move Hockey Canada forward. So too is the remainder of the board of directors team that was part of the organization that sat by quietly as these atrocities bubbled to the surface. We need a new group of people to ensure abuse is eradicated and excuses stop being made for it to continue rearing its ugly head.
It makes no difference what the name of that new group of hockey people calls themselves. The importance is, chiefly, that everyone works together to address this pox on the game. You can’t do that if you allow stubbornness and pride to win out over all of your best intentions.
