My home of Winnipeg once proudly touted itself as the
"Chicago of the North" based on its rapid growth and
emergence as a city with a promising future. To utter those same
words today conjures up images of a city mired in the past, with
attitudes and actions befitting what should be long-forgotten
times, the "bad old" days.
Virtually everyone is now painfully aware of the shocking story
of young athletes being sexually abused by a predator employed as a
video coach with the Chicago Blackhawks. The coach obtained sex
from at least one young player in exchange for promises of playing
opportunities and threats of being passed over by coaching
staff.
Sad enough (but not surprising) is that someone in a position of
power abused that power and victimized vulnerable, young players
for his personal benefit. Worse however and the real scandal is how
the strong personalities of those in charge, who could have and
clearly should have done more, failed the young players and
