The Hypocrisy of Character Building Sport

10 

Therefore the people turn and praise them

    and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Such are the wicked;
    always at ease, they increase in riches.

Psalm 73: 10-12 NRSVue

As game one of the Stanley Cup Finals got underway last night I was aware that one of the key players for the Vegas Golden Knights was involved in a high profile trial last year 

Five former junior hockey players were acquitted of sexual assault in a London Ontario courtroom last July and there was no surprise in our household, sad to say. When Ruth was a support worker in a women's shelter she often accompanied clients to court in abuse and assault cases and saw how the legal deck of burden of proof was stacked against them. 

In yet another "he said, she said" trial the argument was not about five young men engaging in group sex with a young woman, it was about consent. Ultimately the judge concluded that there wasn't reasonable evidence that this sordid incident was illegal even though it was sickening that most of these young men enthusiastically engaged in this behaviour.

Some of them had already gone on to NHL careers by the time of the trial and one of them, Carter Hart, was an emerging star goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers. The league suspended them for a time but Hart was pursued by several NHL teams, including both now in the finals. Hart chose to sign with Vegas rather than the Hurricanes and even though I sense it was a porous game (I couldn't watch)  Hart is now three wins away from a Stanley Cup Championship.

The Golden Knights management team and coach speak about what a fine young man Hart is and he has spoken about what he has learned in rather vague terms. Yet I haven't seen any specific apology for what happened in that hotel room or for the terrible example it sets for young athletes.

 I shake my head at how often people speak reverentially about the benefits of collective sport for kids without much reflection on whether there is any moral compass for young athletes. I'm not suggesting that children and their parents should attend Morals and Ethics 101 classes as a requirement for participation. Yet this high profile case is not an anomaly in a culture of often toxic manhood. Then there are the parents who harass referees and shockingly rage away in the stands. How is this "character building"? 

The God I worship is one of second chances and forgiveness, so I want to generous in my outlook. My faith also includes acknowledgement of wrongdoing (we used to call it sin) and heartfelt repentance. 

It would be unfair to describe Carter Hart as wicked and this is really a systemic problem. Now, though, he is those few games from being a Stanley Cup hero and it doesn't sit right with me.