OHL Releases Statement After Recent Allegations
The Ontario Hockey League is dealing with a situation that was just recently made public. With their season just getting underway, the league is now sorting out how to navigate a serious allegation from off the ice.
Sports writer and journalist Rick Westhead broke the news for CTV that a woman, going by the pseudonym of Anne Marie, brought forward allegations against eight OHL players from an incident in November of 2014. She told Westhead that a group of hockey players committed sexual assault against her a decade ago. The alleged incident took place at the billet home of one of the players. Westhead's full report goes into further details of the allegations.
In response, the OHL issued a statement on the matter. They made it clear in their statement that they are cooperating with the police, had no previous knowledge of this incident before this was made public, and asserted their dedication to educating and preventing sexual assaut and violence through their OHL ONSIDE program. The full statement can be found below.
"The League takes allegations of this nature very seriously and will cooperate with any corresponding police investigation," they wrote in part of their response. "The OHL recognizes the courage required for victims of sexual assault to come forward with their experiences, and would always desire to see justice served and perpetrators held to account."
This is an ongoing situation. The Break Away On SI team will provide information and updates as they are made available.