Sports teams and scandals.

Posted By: Jessica Geense

For as long as organized sport has been around, athletes have appeared to occupy a social class of their own. Held in the highest regard by their fans and with the ability to flaunt their 'jock' status, athletes have often been accused of not only receiving special treatment, but of acting entitled to that special treatment. Up until recently, this attitude had been shrugged off as the status quo, but as a new generation of athletes has emerged, it seems things have gone too far. Many critics are now citing a trend of what they call "sexual entitlement" among athletes, following several high profile episodes of sexual assaults involving athletes at the amateur, college, and professional level.

Newly familiar to this arena is the University of Ottawa, courtesy of their men's varsity hockey team. In early February of 2014, the team travelled to Thunder Bay to face the Lakehead University Thunderwolves in a weekend double-header. During their stay, two of Ottawa's players allegedly raped a 21-year-old woman in a Thunder Bay hotel room. While all of the players and coaching staff became aware of the incident within hours of its occurrence, no action was taken in the situation until University of Ottawa administration was informed almost three weeks later by a friend of the alleged victim. The University immediately contacted the police, and a week later, announced its decision to suspend the men's hockey program for the balance of the season and to launch an internal investigation into the matter.

Upon completion of the investigation in late June of 2014, the University announced that the suspension would remain in place for the following competitive season. For readers unfamiliar with school-based sports, a suspension of just one season can be a death sentence for a team, as current players flee to other schools who are able to give them playing time, and its ability to recruit future players is seriously compromised. It can take a college program many years to recover from the impact of a single season suspension.

Some have criticized the University of Ottawa for disciplining the entire team for the actions of but a few--at least so harshly--in what is a criminal matter. This begs the question of jurisdiction in situations where athletes not only defy standards of decent conduct, but also cross the legal line. What are an institution's responsibilities in handling cases such as this?

The University of Ottawa found...