The NHLPA and the Cozen O'Connor Report
There's a reason there's a retirement age, Don.
On Good Friday, the NHLPA released the Cozen O’Connor report detailing the circumstances around Donald Fehr and the association’s response to the Kyle Beach case in 2010.
Though Pierre Lebrun initially reported that the report would be released on Friday morning, a power outage meant the organization did not release it until later that afternoon. The timing of the release served Don Fehr and the NHLPA exceptionally well, whether strategic or not. The outrage at the truly ludicrous statement they put out was pretty muted, and the coverage on this issue has not been as broad.
The report indicated that the firm could not identify any individual fault or a systemic issue. Instead, it happened to be a series of “miscommunication and misunderstanding.” Given that systems, processes and procedures, or whatever you want to call them, are put in place to prevent those shortcomings, we cannot understand why these wouldn’t be named anything other than a systemic failure. The lack of a proper protocol to report this issue, the lack of any written report, and the need for the report to rely on people’s memories of an event that happened ten years ago indicated that the organization was not prepared to handle an issue like this. When an organization is tasked with protecting people as this union is meant to, there can be no such “miscommunications and misunderstandings” as they lead to the terrible consequences we saw in the Kyle Beach Case. Similar to the Blackhawks’ indifference, those “miscommunication and misunderstandings” not only failed Kyle Beach and the other Black Ace but also permitted Bruce Aldrich to go on to victimize others.
Additionally, the report indicated that in 2010 the NHLPA was in a period of transition that further complicated the matter. Fehr signed on as an adviser during the summer of 2010 and was later named the executive director in December. Again, we must point out that organizations with proper systems in place account for these types of changes. Leadership transitions occur all the time, and organizations don’t break down and stop working or have such severe breaks in communication. These excuses seem particularly flimsy and just another insult to Kyle Beach and the other victims who were failed by those tasked to protect them at each turn.
As much as we agree that the only appropriate course of action is that Donald Fehr gets the boot, we also cannot deny that this was not totally unexpected from the NHLPA. Like every other person wrapped up in hockey’s shitty culture, Don Fehr became part of a system that was already broken. It’s always been a weak union compared to other player associations (hey, escrow, frozen salary cap, concussion lawsuits!) - not wholly unexpected when your first executive director was Alan Eagleson. Any organization with such shoddy groundwork was bound to run into this type of issue at some point.
The NHLPA Executive Board - made up of player representatives from all 32 teams - also decided to keep the recommendations confidential for the time being. While we understand hockey’s code of silence, we can’t help but be baffled by their decision to continue protecting Don Fehr. They do not bear any responsibility for protecting someone who has failed them in such a broad capacity. Respectability or the fear of scandal do not serve hockey players well. A strong union should be the priority for all NHL players, and this would be the time to make a statement. They may feel like the union has done enough for them, but there may be a time when they’ll need the union to step up, and it will fail to do so as it did for Kyle Beach and many others.
To read or hear more about the topic, here are some great content from other platforms:
Legal experts question conclusions of NHLPA report on Kyle Beach - Yahoo Canada
NHLPA investigation: Fehr not at fault in Beach situation - Yahoo Canada
Fehr and Loathing in Toronto | The Steve Dangle Podcast (I am annoyed at how good this play on words is, smh)
Other (non-hockey) Thoughts:
We’ll be trying out two newsletters per week for the next couple of weeks. We love the Other Thoughts portion, but we usually have to cut it down for the sake of brevity. It’s probably the funniest part to write, so we’re just gonna give it its spotlight moment.
ICYMI: Other thoughts - The Deluxe Version
Hater Moment of the Week:
Colorado Avalanche: In my quest to get banned from Nova Scotia (this is a joke @ Government of Canada), I gotta say that Nathan Mackinnon and the rest of the team give me Mean Girls energy. They’re good and hot right now, but would they shove someone into a locker? Probably. Nazem Kadri and Cale Makar are exempt because I can do what I want.
Chicago Blackhawks: On Monday, I watched the Calgary Flames play at the United Center with my friend Maya. It was so great hanging out with her! It was not great hockey! The Flames won, which was nice to see, but good god, was the game itself boring. The Chicago team was just completely checked out. A shitty end to a thoroughly disastrous season. Well deserved.
Shit I’m Obsessed With:
TV Shows:
Bridgerton S2: I watched the second season before watching the first. It was a study in 2005 Pride and Prejudice longing angst. Obsessed with both Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey. The simmering looks alone! After watching it, the first season seemed kinda meh to me. I definitely fast-forwarded to the fun parts, lol.
Business Proposal: It’s been a minute since I’ve watched a good K-Drama! A friend recommended this one, and I ended up loving it. It starts with a fake relationship! All the characters are great, and the second leads have insane chemistry. The angst was low too, which is good because I don’t enjoy it in novelas or K-dramas because they tend to drag it out. If you’ve already watched it, I also suggest What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?
Only Murders In the Building: I know I’m late on this one, but it was so great! I’ve been into whodunit reads lately, and this hit the spot. Also, playing girl-with-an-attitude characters really suits Selena Gomez. It reminded me of her days on Wizard Of Waverly Place; I was chuffed by it, haha.
Bella Hadid’s TikTok Account: Mostly for the cooking content. It all looks amazing, invite me over to eat, bestie, please.
F1: Okay, the internet got me. Well actually, my best friend Lily watched Drive To Survive last season, got into it and roped me in too. The Narratives™ are just too good, and it’s surprisingly fun to watch? Even the zooms are relaxing to hear. This is a surprising turn of events given how anti-golf I am because of the excess and waste, lol.
It’s playoff season, and the Bulls tied the series last night. Apologies for the person I’m about to become.
With love,
Gaby