Misogyny in ice hockey

In the beginning, ice hockey was only played by either sex in the areas of North America which had the right climate that would make a winter season possible, restricting the growth of the sport.

Since registrations were low prior to the mid-1980s, female players had few options when it came to finding other girls to play with and against and felt intimidated by the fact that they had to compete against boys and men.

In addition, body checking was still a part of the female category of the sport,[12] causing further discouragement, until it began to be removed in the mid-1980s in Canada after which registrations increased.

[16] During the Great Depression in Canada, the Ladies Ontario Hockey Association experienced a heavy decline for various reasons, including increasing competition for ice time.

Its most successful team, the Preston Rivulettes, which still drew substantial audiences, were forced to fold as Second World War hit.

National associations continued to ignore the need to develop the women's game model due to a lack of interest among the female population compared to the male side and as a consequence often imposed a wide variety of differing local rules, making international competition difficult to organize.

However, International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch informed the IIHF that the IOC would not communicate with separate federations.

The club was criticized for the decision, with forward Mathilda Gustafsson stating: If we were a company instead of an association, you would never shut down a department which only employed women because the cost inhibits the male employees.

In 1995, while on probation for the statutory rape case, Tibbetts was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a BB gun), disorderly conduct and witness intimidation, and served 39 months in prison.

[42] In March 2015, Ohio State University forced women's hockey head coach Nate Handrahan to resign after being investigated for sexually harassing players.

[49] The IIHF was criticised by several for the decision, with U18 Team Canada player Jade Maisonneuve stating that "COVID doesn't exactly discriminate...

[44] Amid "growing calls for a leadership overhaul to address the troubling culture" in hockey, the organization's CEO Scott Smith said he had no plans to resign.

[58] After the University of New Brunswick downgraded the status of their varsity women's hockey programme in 2008 and stripped it of its funding, players on the team filed a discrimination complaint with the province's Labour and Employment Board.

[62] Early that year, the team had been criticised for displays of sexism at the Blackhawks Convention, with the moderator, Mark Giangreco, focusing on the attractiveness of captain Jonathan Toews's partner instead of his trophy awards.

After company CCM Hockey pledged to pay her an equal amount to what Draisaitl won, the NHL announced that it had clocked her time as six seconds longer than his and would be donating $25 000 to a charity of Decker's choice.

[89][90] The league expanded women's participation in the 2020 All-Star game, and announced it would be paying the players an appearance fee and making a donation towards girls' hockey, but would not be offering prize money.

[91] In 1992, Manon Rhéaume became the first woman to attend an NHL training camp and suited up for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a pre-season game.

[94] Cases exist where girls have tried to join high-performance boys' teams only to find themselves being cut, a decision they believed to be made due to their sex.

"[97] Further research by Gilenstam has suggested "a similar capacity of producing strength and aerobic power in female and male hockey players.

"[115] A "puck bunny" is defined as a female ice hockey fan whose interest in the sport is primarily motivated by sexual attraction to the players rather than enjoyment of the game itself.

[123] Swedish national team defender Johanna Fällman stated that "It feels like hockey is several steps behind the rest of society in Sweden.

"[124] A 2018 investigation by SVT Sport found that 9 out 10 girls youth players in the Västergötland region experience degrading and sexist comments.

[129][130] Hockey has been widely accused of a culture of conformity, presenting an additional barrier to attempts to speak out about and change issues in the sport.

"[141] A 2020 study from Sweden found that "Identified as components of the ice hockey culture and ‘natural’ parts of the game and community, rules that trigger fights, harsh and careless playing styles, a normalising of sexist and derogatory attitudes/language and an exaggerated alcohol consumption.

[145] In December 2020, a large number of testimonies by former OHL players were filed to the Ontario Superior Court, detailing accounts of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse.

"[164] A doctoral thesis by Ryerson University professor Donna Gall found that most potential viewers of women's hockey didn't know where to access coverage of games.

Gall's conclusion was that this was caused by media coverage which tended to focus on the issues facing women's hockey rather than the actual ongoing competitions, making it hard for potential viewers to follow games.

Canadian professor Courtney Szto has spoken out against that argument by noting that a number of sporting events only significantly after they received widespread coverage, including the IIHF World Juniors.

[170] Andi Petrillo, who became the first female reporter to travel on the Toronto Maple Leafs' team charter in 2006, stated that: "Some people didn't care but some made my life hell because of my gender.

We are writing that history every day and we are fighting to have women included on selection committees and induction lists; therefore, those trophies need to end up in a public archive.