UM TodayHockey Hazing – UM Today

CTV: 2025 Ontario Coaching Report reveals hazing is still widespread

Eleanor Coopsammy — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 20:47:12 +0000

CTV’s Rahim Ladhani has the details on the Ontario Coaching Report and speaks with Dr. Jay Johnson, a Canadian hazing researcher and Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba

To watch the full interview, please head to CTV News.

908 CJME – Expert analysis: unpacking the 2024 Ontario Coaching Report

Miriam Betzner — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 19:08:16 +0000

Dr. jay johnson appeared on 908 CJME’s The Evan Bray Show to help unpack the second annual 2024 Ontario Coaching Report, published by the Ontario Coaching Association.

The report focuses on sport culture and coaching practices in Ontario, including diving deeper into the prevalence of hazing and team initiation practices.

Listen to the interview on 908 CJME.

Toronto Star: Hazing or team building? New playbook aims to help coaches understand where to draw the line

Fiona Odlum — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 17:52:14 +0000

The term hazing brings to mind the high-profile cases of physical or sexual assault and forced alcohol consumption that often make the news but the prevention playbook defines hazing much more broadly as “any activity expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers, regardless of that person’s willingness to participate.”

That includes activities routinely brushed off as traditions or pranks such as demeaning nicknames, forced singing in public or wearing embarrassing clothing. Even singling out rookies by making them set up equipment or do laundry for senior players can be a form of hazing, said jay johnson, a University of Manitoba professor who started researching hazing in the 1990s.

“It’s bound up in a lot of what we’re describing now as toxic masculinity and having to prove yourself,” he said.

To read the full article, please visit the Toronto Star.

CBC Manitoba: High school hockey team iced from post-season as RCMP probes hazing allegations

Fiona Odlum — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 19:12:52 +0000

But while sport organizations have been educating players, coaches and parents about hazing for years, studies show it’s still happening, said jay johnson, a kinesiology professor at the University of Manitoba who has been doing research on hazing in sport for 25 years.

“We had a nationwide study that we conducted in 2018 where we surveyed athletes in youth sports across Canada and we were surprised to find that still two-thirds of those athletes were still reporting hazing taking place.”

There are things teams can do to reduce the chances of it happening, including drafting clear and concise policies around hazing and the consequences, and then following through.

Reports of hazing at the high school or club level are increasing because parents are speaking out, johnson said.

Still, he acknowledges, it’s a challenge for athletes to come forward because they’re part of the culture of the team.