Setting Standards To Absolute Minimum

There's absolutely no doubt that Hockey Canada has taken a beating over the last few months thanks to their inability or their unfathomable refusal to do the right thing. We've seen them beat up by Members of Parliament, the court of public opinion, and reporters for their response to being caught paying out huge sums of money for sexual assualt and sexual misconduct allegations from registration fees they collected, and it came to light yesterday that they were spending more money on things like travel, accommodations, and meals like they had won just won the lottery. Obviously, someone needs to pay the bill for this lifestyle, so the report filed by Susan Krashinsky Robertson and James Bradshaw in The Globe and Mail today may be the first signs of cracks in the Hockey Canada money bin.

While the above link is unfortunately paywalled, Robertson and Bradshaw reported that "Hockey Canada recently approached some of its largest sponsors to gauge whether ousting some top executives and board members would be enough to win back their support – and sponsorship dollars – amid an ongoing sexual-assault scandal."

That silence you hear is the sound of me being baffled that Hockey Canada would have the audacity to beg its sponsors to come back when they've done nothing to indicate nor exemplify change at a number of levels. According to Robertson and Bradshaw, I'm not the only one baffled as they wrote, "So far, the sponsors who were contacted have not changed their positions, according to the sources, whom The Globe is not naming because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive conversations with business partners. Some said the departures on offer would not be sufficient, and that wholesale change to Hockey Canada's operations is needed."

As I've been stating all along in these proceedings, we need to see heads roll. Promises to make changes and vows to improve culture mean nothing when the public's trust in the organization has been shaken to its core. Actions speak louder than words so, if Hockey Canada is serious about changing the culture, those who instilled and grew the culture that needs changing need to be dismissed. It's really that simple when it comes to starting this process, and I struggle as to why Hockey Canada can't seem to get that message.

Hockey Canada calling up their main sponsors and begging for money and/or support reeks of desperation, and, as stated, it might be the first time we see cracks in the foundation. Hockey Canada will host another World Junior Championship in December, and we already know that the cost of holding one of these tournaments in Canada is expensive. It seems that the recent tournament in August may have left the coffers a little short, so Hockey Canada may have resorted to some corporate begging of its sponsors when it comes to having the necessary funds on-hand for the December tournament.

Of course, this is only speculation, but what does this act of going to one's sponsors - sponsors who have demanded changes, may I remind you - and asking if what's been done is good enough for them to re-invest their money say about the leadership at Hockey Canada? What standards are Hockey Canada laying out when it comes to making changes? Is "bare minimum" what was demanded from the organization or are the public, sponsors, and government not making it clear that necessary changes include the dismissal and re-organization of Hockey Canada?

You don't get rewarded for doing the absolute minimum in any situation. That's not how any normal, societal reward system works. If Hockey Canada had made wholesale changes by this time, I can see a number of sponsors agreeing to go back. It may not be all, but some is better than none, right? But if one has done nothing except agree to be part of a larger governmental oversight and publish a job advertisement for a new culture-based role, that's not quite hitting the "bare minimum" ask that the public, sponsors, and government made either.

No one has been fired. Michael Brind'Amour, the former chair, stepped down with months left on his term, but no one else from the Board of Directors has stepped away from his or her role. Nothing has changed other than Hockey Canada wasting oxygen on talking about meaningful change and examining what can be done. If you do nothing after making repeated promises, why should you be expecting to be rewarded for that effort?

Again, this failure of leadership comes from a lack of responsibility and lack of accountability. It starts at the top and trickles down through to executives who have tarnished Hockey Canada immensely through their actions. With no evidence produced as of yet to prove the culture is changing, you don't get benefit of the doubt when it comes to actions. Having the gall and nerve to ask sponsors if Hockey Canada has done enough yet in order to receive monetary support is disgusting on its surface and completely ridiculous at the heart of the matter.

I'd be ashamed if I were Hockey Canada. It just seems like they're willing to hold onto the status quo when everyone else is demanding so much more from them in order for them to be better and do better. The hardest part is that they're clearly hearing what everyone is saying, but they aren't listening to the message being sent. If they were, there would be vacancies on both the board and on the executive team at this time. Only then could Hockey Canada say that they've started the process, so it's clear that they simply aren't listening.

Minimum standards only exist for those that don't care nor are willing to be better, so I commend Hockey Canada's partners and sponsors for sending a strong message that the expectations set were clear and Hockey Canada has not achieved anything close to those expectations. We need to hold them to a higher standard, maybe even an impossibly high standard, in order for them to receive any reward for making changes. Only at that point should they be able to ask if the effort was good enough.

Author M. Sosa wrote, "If they're doing the bare minimum and you keep settling for that, that's all they'll keep giving you." Now is not the time to settle and be happy with Hockey Canada's promises. Until their actions speak louder than words, Hockey Canada's leadership has failed again.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!