Hockey!

Kids are constantly watching professional athletes. They copy athletes' celebration moves/dances, how they talk, how they treat each other, and how they act. Athletes are role models, whether they want to be or not. That’s why decisions like this matter so much. When a player who has been publicly connected to allegations and evidence like this is welcomed back into the NHL, what are younger fans supposed to take away from it? What lesson are they learning about respect, accountability, and how women should be treated?

I’m genuinely scared that we’re continuing to move the bar lower and lower. Every time a team makes a decision like this, it becomes a little easier for the next team to do the same. It sends the message that talent outweighs character and that enough time passing is all it takes for these things to be forgotten.

What makes this especially concerning and why it’s so difficult for me to understand, is that there were text messages made public that painted an incredibly disturbing picture of what had happened. In a message, Brett Howden wrote, “Man, when I was leaving, Duber was smacking this girl’s ass so hard. It looked like it hurt so bad.” Reading that genuinely makes me sick to my stomach. Regardless of outcome in court, that is not the kind of example I want set from someone who now gets to wear an NHL jersey. It’s not the kind of conduct I want the kids I work with to see rewarded.

The NHL has spent years promoting initiatives surrounding respect, inclusion, and making hockey a sport for everyone. Those messages fall flat when teams continue giving opportunities to play to people whose actions have caused so many people, especially women, so much pain.

I expected better from the St. Louis Blues. I hoped your organization would recognize that signing Dillon Dubé was not just a roster decision, it was a statement about what your organization is willing to stand behind. I believe it was the wrong statement to make.