Bombshell In London

I consider myself fairly fortunate that I've been able to watch hockey games at Thompson Arena on the campus of the University of Western Ontario. As you may recall, the Manitoba Bisons won their U SPORTS National Championship in women's hockey at that venue, and they did it by defeating the Western Mustangs in the gold medal game. Western has a legacy of being a strong hockey program in U SPORTS, so the reporting by TSN's Rick Westhead today was shocking as "[m]ultiple players have made allegations of improper conduct against head coach Candice Moxley and Western's strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watson". If the allegations are true, Moxley and Watson will likely never work in university sports again.

I'll admit that this is topic about which no one likes reporting or talking, but it's an unfortunate reality in sports today. When reports surfaced of misconduct in Lethbridge, it was difficult to understand how a coach could treat players in that manner, let alone being one woman's misconduct towards other women. It's even harder to swallow when one considers that these players were recruited to play at these schools only to have the coach mistreat them so much that they need to file a complaint against the coaches. But I guess history does repeat.

Let me be clear: the allegations listed below are serious to the point of potentially risking a player's health and/or safety. However, it seems that if all the listed allegations are true, there will be little chance that Moxley will be back behind the Western bench when she returns off her leave. In saying that, here are those allegations:

• Moxley pressured players to play through injuries.
• Moxley repeatedly told players she "didn't care" about their mental health.
• Moxley told her players they were all replaceable.
• Moxley criticized players' social media posts, telling players they wore clothing that was too revealing.
• Moxley allegedly pressured at least one player to play while they had a knee injury, threatening to bench the player for the remainder of the season if they did not suit up for a game.
• Moxley did not act following multiple complaints from players that they were being sexually harassed by Watson including him making inappropriate statements about players' bodies and having inappropriately touched some players.
• Moxley told a player that she should wear longer shorts to avoid having Watson touch them inappropriately when they were working out in the gym.

There's a lot of wrong in the above bullet points, but all of them together is more than enough allegations to warrant an investigation into the women's hockey program under Candice Moxley. As we know today, that investigation is underway as London lawyer Elizabeth Hewitt is leading the inquiry.

Hewitt, it should be noted, "specializes in investigating claims of workplace harassment, sexual harassment, abuse, privacy breaches, discrimination, and workplace violence, according to her website," so it sounds like Western is bringing in someone quite familiar with the type of allegations made by the players. I doubt Hewitt take any of the allegations made lightly, and she'll be exhaustive in her quest for the truth in this investigation.

If any of the allegations against Jeff Watson are found to be true, he needs to be fired immediately with prejudice. In today's world, any strength and conditioning coach that sexually harasses players, makes inappropriate comments about players' bodies, or touches players inappropriately should be dismissed as soon as possible. There is simply no way that can be permitted in any form.

If any of the allegations against Watson are found to be true and Moxley was alerted by players and did nothing or brushed it off, Moxley would have to be shown the door. There's no way that one can trust a coach who threatens players with benchings if they don't play through injuries, there's no way that one can feel supported where one's mental health isn't a concern in a university setting, and there's absolutely no way Moxley can remain as the head coach if she's ignoring complaints about Jeff Watson assaulting, abusing, and harassing players. If all of the allegations are true, Moxley needs to be fired with prejudice as well.

The key in all of this, though, is that these are allegations until the investigation is complete. As of right now, neither Moxley nor Watson has been reprimanded or suspended, and Moxley pointed that out to Westhead in their email exchange, writing, "The review of the team environment is ongoing, however, at no time have I been suspended by Western."

Perhaps more concerning was the administration's ignorance of the complaints made by players. According to Westhead's report, "players began making formal complaints about Moxley in March 2022 to then-Western director of sports and recreation Stephanie White, who left Western in April 2022 to take a position at the University of Windsor." White told TSN via email that "she has not been asked to participate in an investigation or offer any details on misconduct allegations against Watson or Moxley."

If there were formal complaints made in March 2022, though, why didn't White refer those complaints prior to her leaving Western to someone who could investigate them? These players are under her watch as the sports and recreation director at Western, and those complaints should have been handled with sensitivity while being referred to a Dean or another authority figure at Western. But the complaints went nowhere.

After getting nowhere with White prior to her leaving, "a senior Western player emailed White's successor, Christine Stapleton, on March 13, 2023, writing, 'The leadership team would like to have a private confidential meeting with you to discuss our concerns with the Western women's hockey program and head coach.'" Stapleton, however, did nothing as the complaints went unheard yet again.

That's now two administrators who have ignored complaints from the women's hockey team about the conduct of their coach. If there's a failure here, we're witnessing the timeline of how to fail in spectacular fashion. Let's continue, though, because it gets worse before it gets better.

After not receiving a response from Stapleton, "several senior players emailed Western president Alan Shepard on June 13 to request a meeting. Shepard’s assistant forwarded the players' email to vice-provost John Doerksen, who met with the players on June 22." Was Alan Shepard too busy to meet with them? Why did he have his assistant email the vice-provost rather than hearing the complaints himself?

After the failure of three administrators to meet with the women, they finally got a meeting with Doerksen. The day after the meeting with Doerksen, Stapleton agreed to a meeting with the players. I'm guessing Doerksen contacted Stapleton and filled her in on the serious nature of the complaints being made by the women's hockey team, prompting her to contact the players.

Three-and-a-half months after emailing Stapleton, the team, along with administration staff and human resources representatives, finally met with Stapleton on June 28 where they were told by Stapleton that "school staff had identified several areas of concern about Moxley including 'player health and safety' but had decided to allow her to remain on staff for the upcoming season." Because that makes sense, right? There are several areas of concern including the health and safety of players, but Moxley can keep doing what she's doing. What the heck is happening at Western?

Of course, the women were none too pleased by this revelation, so players asked "why Moxley would be given a chance to continue coaching after allegedly ignoring repeated complaints of sexual misconduct", and those questions went unanswered by Stapleton.

This is now the second time that Stapleton has ignored a direct question or request from the team, and I'm now under the impression that Stapleton is unfit for her position at the university. Including Stapleton's two instances of failing these women, it took the women's hockey team 15 months and four different administrators to have anyone respond to their complaints. That, folks, is downright criminal by the university who asked these women to play for their team.

While the picture painted by Rick Westhead's reporting doesn't come off well for the University of Western Ontario, Candice Moxley, or Jeff Watson, it's true that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. I'm sure Elizabeth Hewitt will conduct a thorough investigation that will consider all of the allegations made by the players, and she will rule accordingly on what she finds. If all that Westhead reported is true, however, I wouldn't expect to see Moxley nor Watson back at the University of Western Ontario.

Why is doing the right thing apparently too hard for some people? It's a question to which I feel I'll never find an answer.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!