Fixing hockey culture requires more than just leadership change, experts say

The resignation of the CEO and board of Hockey Canada in the wake of a sexual assault scandal is not enough to cause meaningful change in the sport's culture, according to hockey commentator Tara Slone.

Slone, the former host of Hometown Hockey and Top of Her Game on Sportsnet, said changing leadership will not accomplish anything if the status quo is upheld. 

"I think hockey currently has a built-in culture of entitlement, a built-in culture of misogyny, a built-in culture of secrecy," Slone said.

"One of the primary things that I'd like to see shift, and I know that a lot of the sponsors are looking to this, is, to create a culture of enjoyment where hockey is fun and cultivates a good, well-rounded human being, as opposed to just cultivate winners."

She said hockey is a very insular culture that is predominantly white.

If hockey is to foster a spirit of inclusion, Slone said, it needs to look for people who have experiences outside the "hockey norm."

Slone said Hockey Canada's announcement that an interim board will be appointed to examine the governance of the organization ahead of an election scheduled for Dec. 17 raises questions about how appointments will be made.

Wendy MacGregor, an independent safe sport consultant, told CBC Radio's Information Morning that the problem is not limited to hockey.

She said it is pervasive in so-called "power and performance sports" and team sports likehockey, football, basketball and rugby.

MacGregor said statistics show that male athletes are more likely to be involved in sexual violence than the general population.

Aggression is rewarded in power and performance sports, MacGregor said, and that kind of aggression is also associated with sexual drive in a positive way in that