What Was Left Unsaid in the Hockey Canada Trial | The Walrus

""O ne of these days, you'll write a nice story about these boys," Daniel Brown says to the group of reporters inside a London courthouse one morning this past May. "It'll come." He is the criminal defence lawyer for one of the aforementioned boys. It is day ten of the so-called junior hockey trial, where the five accused are charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ontario, hotel room in June 2018, following a night of celebrating their World Juniors team victory earlier that year, and it feels like a forgone conclusion that they will be declared not guilty, at least legally."

"The players arrive in court like it's game day. All five are outfitted in suits that are a bit too tight-in part because it's the style for athletes, but also because hockey players are notorious for thick quads and glutes that strain off-the-rack seams-making them look more uncomfortable than they might already be. The accused are Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, Cal Foote-names that sound pulled from a tween romance novel."

"And yet, it's tempting to call them boys. (I, too, find myself repeatedly referring to them as boys.) They say celebrities are frozen at the ages they become famous, and for the players, this means the sweaty pubescent years when they achieved minor league stardom. To be the lead scorer of your local AAA team is to be the Justin Bieber of your hometown, complete with total insulation from rules or consequences outside of the penalty box. If you're an Ontario Hockey League player, fans can buy jerseys with your name on them."

Five junior hockey players faced charges of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ontario, hotel room in June 2018 after celebrating a World Juniors victory. The accused were between eighteen and twenty at the time and are now in their mid-twenties. They attended court in tight suits that emphasized athletic physiques and were alternately described as men, players, or boys. They are being tried as adults and named Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, and Cal Foote. The case highlights tensions between celebrity privilege for young athletes and questions of accountability and legal outcome.

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