Study examines culture of silence in professional men's hockey when it comes to mental health

WARNING: This article contains details of suicide

A new study from a group of University of British Columbia researchers takes a deep dive into the pressures professional men's hockey players feel to stay silent despite serious personal problems.

The study, published last month in the journal Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, involved in-depth interviews with 19 men who are current or former pro hockey players. All but one had played in the National Hockey League.

Through those interviews, lead author Katie Crawford and her team discovered despite facing issues like physical pain, mental unwellness, concussions, addictions, relationship difficulties and more, many players felt pressured to keep things to themselves and deal with problems on their own.

"What I saw was a lot of different barriers, things like fear of job security, fear of losing your position on a team … judgment from teammates, judgment from coaches, judges from the general public, from fans," said Crawford.

While there has been work in recent years to break down these barriers in the NHL, she said, more needs to be done.

Crawford said some players knew there are resources available to them provided by the team, like counsellors, but many are distrustful.

Since those resources are provided by their team — their employer — there are concerns about the confidentiality and independence of those resources.

Some players worry reaching out for help in confidence could be used against them if management finds out.

"The assurance to them around the confidentiality isn't concrete," Crawford said.

"All of a sudden, great, we have the resource, but no one is willing to use it out of fear."

She said her findings show a need for the NHL to establish