The University of Ottawa suspended its men's hockey program today, following reports of "serious misconduct" by members of the team.
Though the press release announcing the suspension did not specify details and noted no further information would be released, the Ottawa Citizen is reporting that several members of the team were involved in a sexual assault involving a female university student in Thunder Bay.
According to the team schedule for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, the men's hockey team played in Thunder Bay on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2014. As the official report from the school notes, the incident in question happened several weeks ago, and was only brought to the attention of the administration on Feb. 24. The university reported the incident to police on Feb. 25.
This news comes on the heels of another University of Ottawa student's accusations about the campus' "rape culture." Ann-Marie Roy, president of the student federation at the school, recently went public after discovering fellow students, all of whom are male and in leadership positions, had been having explicit conversations about what they'd like to do to her sexually. While she received a written apology from them, she still felt her rights had been violated.
The University of Ottawa, for its part, has shown strong support for women's rights and demonstrated it would not tolerate this type of discrimination.
“The comments [about Ann Marie-Roy] demonstrate attitudes about women and sexual aggression that have no place on campus, or anywhere else in Canadian society,” said U of Ottawa president Allan Rock in a press release. “The University will work with our student President to ensure the situation is addressed properly.”
So far, no statement has come from the president or any other school official with regards to the suspension of the men's hockey program.
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