Rick Westhead

My book WE BREED LIONS: Confronting Canada’s Troubled Hockey Culture is out today. Thank you to the team at @randomhouseca for believing in this book and thanks to Stephen Brunt for writing the forward. I’m grateful to @TSN_Sports for its commitment to sports journalism and I appreciate the many people in the game who spoke to me about their love for hockey and their desire to make it better. I'm donating proceeds from this book to Canadian organizations such as the London Abused Women’s Centre that are trying to end gender-based violence and others that are striving to make sports more accessible. You can order the book via @chaptersindigo here: indigo.ca/en-ca/we-breed…

Update: The Central Canada Hockey League says former Pembroke Lumber Kings owner Alex Armstrong’s appeal rights have been exhausted, confirming he is no longer a member of the league. In a statement released today, the CCHL said it had terminated Armstrong’s membership in September 2025. “The CCHL will soon begin the process of finding a new owner to operate a franchise in Pembroke, Ontario,” the league said. @TheCCHL

Two youth hockey players appeared in youth court in Truro, Nova Scotia, today to be arraigned on multiple sexual assault charges stemming from an alleged incident involving a minor hockey team. The two accused were 14 at the time of the alleged offences but have since turned 15. Both boys are accused of sexually assaulting three teammates at an undisclosed location on Oct. 3. A weapon was used in one of the sexual assaults, police have alleged. One of the boys faces a charge of common assault, replacing an earlier allegation of assault with a weapon involving urine. Authorities have not released the identities of those involved because they are minors. Two other youths who were arrested in connection with the investigation will not face charges. The case has been adjourned until May 25 to allow the defence to review disclosures by the Crown before the boys enter pleas.

From @rwesthead - Equestrian coach’s lifetime ban for sexual abuse reduced, clearing path for return to sport: tsn.ca/other-sports/a…

Days after Sport Integrity Canada expanded its national public sanctions registry to include historic cases of individuals who have been permanently barred from sport, Volleyball Canada has provided the names of 16 individuals who have been added to the registry. The registry now includes the names of 36 individuals who have been permanently banned by national sport organizations. A number of national sport organizations, including Hockey Canada, did not participate in the first phase of the expansion. tsn.ca/other-sports/a…

The most comprehensive review of Canada’s sport system in a generation concluded with a stark assessment: the system is fragmented, under-regulated and, in the words of its authors, “broken.” From the 950-page report of the Future of Sport in Canada Commission: “For far too many Canadians, especially young athletes, sport has been an environment marked by abuse and insecurity, where they have not been adequately protected and where no one has been held accountable...” The commission called the absence of a national public sanctions registry one of the system’s most persistent and dangerous gaps. Individuals sanctioned in one league, province or sport have, in some cases, been able to move undetected into another. That absence of a registry is a direct contributor to harm, the commission wrote. tsn.ca/other-sports/a…

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Over the past few years, so many players, parents and coaches have contacted me about what happens in minor hockey locker rooms. After describing some of the behaviour, they often ask the same question: “Where are the adults?” Hockey Canada’s “two-deep” rule requires two screened, trained adults (coaches or parent volunteers) to be present or immediately outside of dressing rooms before and after games and practices. When I coached my son’s team in Toronto, this rule was well understood. Yet in a recent Ontario Minor Hockey Association discipline case, a coach refused to follow the two-deep rule — saying he’d quit if he was forced to remain in "the players' space..." Parent after parent has asked me why some coaches ignore and bristle over this rule.

A former player on the Timmins, Ont., Majors U18 AAA team says he witnessed a veteran player urinating on a younger teammate in the locker room following a game in Sault Ste. Marie. He also says a player smacked him in the face with his penis, that veteran players masturbated in front of younger players in the locker room, and that he watched as a player embraced a naked younger teammate from behind in the shower and simulated a sexual act with him. The player also says he told team officials about an incident in the locker room in late September, when a veteran player allegedly pressured a first-year teammate to place a condom on the veteran’s penis after it had been lying on the floor. The former player's father asks: “Where were the adults in the room?” Timmins police are now investigating.

Allison Forsyth, a former Olympic skier, safe sport advocate, and abuse survivor, is joining Headversity, a Calgary-based company whose mental health platform and safe sport training is used by sport organizations countrywide. Evolving the foundation of the current Respect in Sport program, Headversity will integrate the curriculum and methodology of Forsyth’s company Generation Safe. Forsyth will become the Headversity’s chief sport officer. @AlliForsyth

A teenage swimmer in Ontario alleges in a $750K lawsuit that a trainer who was in his 50s had athletes lie on the ground and then lay on top of them while performing stretches or massages. The swimmer alleges the trainer walked past her during a training session in January 2023 when she was 15 and slapped her on the buttocks. The lawsuit also alleges the trainer contacted the swimmer on Instagram months later. The swimmer alleges both her swim club and Swim Ontario breached their duty of care by allowing the trainer to interact with athletes and by failing to ensure that trainers working with swimmers were properly vetted and supervised.

After a devastating injury, Sam Adekugbe is working his way back to the field, hopefully in time to compete in the World Cup in three months. He's one of many likeable stars on Canada's national men's soccer team. Here's Sam's story, "In the Blink of an Eye." youtube.com/watch?v=t11X2f…

Two youth have been formally charged with sexual assault by RCMP in Colchester County, Nova Scotia, in connection with a series of incidents on a minor-hockey team in the Truro area this season. The RCMP said today that one youth has been charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault with a weapon. A second youth was charged with two counts of sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, and assault with a weapon. Two other youths who were arrested will not be charged, the RCMP said. The alleged assaults occurred repeatedly over a span of months both at a house party in October 2025 and in the team’s locker room, a person familiar with the matter told TSN. The person said the youth who have been charged are scheduled to be arraigned Apr. 14. About 60 people attended a rally on Wednesday in support of the alleged victims and to voice their opposition to a decision by school officials to allow one of the alleged perpetrators to return to classes in the same school attended by several of the alleged victims. rcmp.ca/en/nova-scotia…

A former basketball coach in Quebec was sentenced to 40 months in prison on Tuesday for sexually assaulting a then-15-year-old athlete. The victim in the case said they came forward after reading media reports of other survivors sharing their stories publicly. via @LP_LaPresse lapresse.ca/actualites/jus…

“Life doesn’t have boards to contain their violence.” Inside the March issue: Chris Jones reviews “We Breed Lions” by @rwesthead, a book on Canada’s troubled hockey culture published by @randomhouseca. reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2026/…

A Quebec Superior Court judge has authorized a class action lawsuit for settlement purposes against Canada Artistic Swimming, allowing claims by former national-team athletes who allege psychological abuse, neglect and harassment by coaches and staff. In a Feb. 11, 2026 ruling, Justice Donald Bisson approved applications from seven former athletes to act as class representatives. The authorized class includes all athletes who trained with Canada’s national artistic swimming teams between Jan. 1, 2010, and June 14, 2023, who say they were subjected to psychological abuse, neglect or harassment. The court approved a notice process, ordered Canada Artistic Swimming to provide athlete email lists, appointed a claims administrator, and set deadlines for opting out or objecting. A settlement approval hearing is scheduled for May 11, 2026 in Montreal. The case follows public allegations, first reported in 2021, from former artistic swimmers who described a culture of fear, body-shaming and emotional harm within the national program.

The Supreme Court of Canada will hear arguments today in a long-running class action over whether major junior hockey players should have been paid minimum wage. The lawsuit involves former players from the CHL’s three leagues, the QMJHL, OHL and WHL, who argue they were employees under provincial employment standards laws. In 2020, the CHL and players reached a proposed $30M settlement. While courts in Ontario and Alberta approved the deal in 2024, the Quebec case stalled after two representative plaintiffs withdrew support, despite having signed the agreement. Those players say they lost confidence in the settlement after concluding the leagues were not transparent about their finances. The appeal now asks the Supreme Court to decide whether class counsel can still seek approval of a settlement when representative plaintiffs walk away, a ruling that could affect thousands of former players. Today's hearing is scheduled to be webcast.

A boy’s U-15 hockey team in the London, Ont., area has been disbanded for the season after a number of players allegedly used their phones to record videos of their teammates naked in the shower area and dressing room and posted the videos on SnapChat. Hockey Canada’s independent third party is investigating the allegations after a complaint was filed in January about the alleged videos and about a player who allegedly repeatedly put his penis in the face of his teammates in the locker room. A source familiar with the complaint said Hockey Canada ITP investigators are determining whether the team’s coaches were regularly absent from the locker room, which would be contrary to Hockey Canada’s policies, and whether that contributed to the alleged behaviour. A complaint has also been made to the London Police Service about the incidents, the source said.

Update: RCMP in Nova Scotia said today that a fourth youth has been arrested in connection with an investigation into alleged sexual assaults during hazing incidents involving a hockey team in the Truro area. Police say the fourth youth was charged on Feb. 6 with sexual assault and assault with a weapon. The RCMP have said they believe there are at least three victims in the case and that there may be more. rcmp.ca/en/nova-scotia…