Canadian’s bad choice: repair rather than apology

At the time of the final draft, Montreal Canadians were selected by prioritizing hockey values ​​over moral values ​​such as respect for others.

In the current controversy, what hurts me is that young hockey player Logan Milelocks published and distributed a ghost photo to his friends without thinking about the consequences for the victim. Because it was a serious mistake to tarnish the reputation and violate the values ​​of respect for the person, this time a young woman took a photo in full sexual intercourse against her will.

No one cares about the injury of losing a person’s privacy respect. Should we be surprised? No, not really, because I’m mostly seeing the lack of a male role model not only in our community, but also among many young hockey players. The organization of the Montreal Canadians, as they have just done, is also eloquently proof of this by apologizing. Its reputation has been damaged and it will have to bear the economic and social cost to the reputation of the famous hockey club.

Now, how to fix such a situation from happening again? In crisis management and reputation management, prevention is better than cure. First, the National Hockey League (NHL) has a responsibility to oversee its teams to prevent the Logan affair from happening again.

To achieve this, it must adopt a code of ethics that is more than symbolic or of moral importance, which serves as a guide for all NHL teams. Thus, for example, any player convicted of sexual harassment by a court may be awarded a large sum of money to assist victims of sexual harassment and be automatically terminated without pay for at least one year.

In other words, it is zero tolerance for NHL clubs. In the case of young players, they are not eligible for the draft before the one-year wait. All players who make a mistake must undergo mandatory treatment and be assessed continuously before rejoining the professional team.

Admitting a mistake is one thing, sorry is another step, but resolving it sends a strong signal.

The Canadians organization should finally make amendments by refusing to admit a player and by asking the NHL Board of Governors to adopt a “strong” code of ethics to prevent other players from being misled. In the world of professional hockey, sexual harassment must be “checked in advance” so that the male model can finally emerge in young athletes.

Jean Baylorjan, Consultant in Strategic Communication

Quebec