Sheldon Kennedy was on Jim Rome's radio show this afternoon to plug his new book, Why I Didn't Say Anything: The Sheldon Kennedy Story.What's always important to keep in mind with the whole sick and sad Kennedy/Graham James saga -- well, beyond the fact that the bastard is still coaching -- is how it was possible within the whole junior hockey culture at that time. James is a grotesque, and our buddy David Frost, regardless of what happens with his court case, is a grotesque as well.
A grotesque is a loathsome figure who indirectly points out a culture's hypocrisies. Hockey authorities, perhaps more than most other sports, always push back hard in the presence of outsiders, and always play circle-the-wagons when elements of junior hockey's dark side -- coaches intimidating teenaged players, hazing, the puck bunny phenomenon -- are revealed. Just look at last year, when the Windsor Spitfires hazing incident that took place when Steve Downie was still the team's captain got pretended away when Downie was starring at the World Juniors.
It's better now, but that whole code of silence allowed monsters like James and Frost to flourish miserably.
Hockey people are realizing how ugly these scandals made the sport look. There is a movement to emphasize players' personal development -- for instance, junior teams are now limited in how many 16-year-olds they can have in the lineup, meaning emotionally fragile teenagers, like Kennedy once was, aren't as likely to leave home too early. There have been changes, but it's too Pollyanna by half to think there won't be another Graham James or David Frost in Canadian junior hockey, or another uproar over hazing. Here's hoping I'll be proven wrong.
Related:
Rogue Agent Up On Sex-Abuse Charges (Aug. 22)
Rogue Agent Getting a Frosty Reception (Aug. 8)
That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.
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