For $850,000 a year, what exactly are the Edmonton Oilers asking the public to trust?
you know you're raping me?
If this were your daughter, knowing everything that is publicly known about this case, would you feel comfortable leaving her alone with this man?
Stop for a moment.
Really think about your answer.
Because that is the question I can't get out of my head today.
Alex Formenton has been signed by the Edmonton Oilers.
He was one of the five former Canadian junior hockey players charged in connection with the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual-assault case. All five were acquitted in criminal court in 2025.
That legal distinction matters. An acquittal means the Crown did not prove the criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
But an acquittal does not make every question about accountability disappear.
And today, I am asking a much bigger question than what happens on a hockey rink.
How many other men—men without fame, money, professional contracts or powerful institutions behind them—have walked away from allegations of sexual violence and simply returned to their lives?
How many survivors are still carrying what happened?
How many families are still waiting?
How many women have been told, directly or indirectly, that they have to live with the consequences while everyone else gets to move on?
And then there is another uncomfortable connection.
Canada has already spent years being told that the crisis of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people requires fundamental change.
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People produced 231 Calls for Justice.
Seven years later, Canada's own reporting acknowledges continuing frustration from families and survivors over delays, fragmentation and a lack of accountability.
So what exactly are we doing?
We write reports.
We make calls for justice.
We make promises.
We hold ceremonies.
We say never again.
And then another woman says she was sexually assaulted.
Another survivor is expected to carry the trauma.
Another institution decides what it can live with.
And another professional career continues.
At what point do we stop asking survivors to prove that their pain matters and start asking institutions what responsibility looks like?
I don't believe due process should disappear.
I don't believe an acquittal should be ignored.
But I also don't believe accountability should end at the courthouse door.
There are choices made after a criminal case.
Hockey Canada makes choices.
Leagues make choices.
Teams make choices.
Sponsors make choices.
Fans make choices.
And ordinary people make choices about what they are willing to normalize.
So I'll ask the question again:
If this were your daughter, would you feel comfortable leaving her alone with this man?
And if your answer is no—
why are we comfortable celebrating him?
10 questions I can't stop asking
- If this were your daughter, would you feel comfortable leaving her alone with this man?
- How many men without fame or professional careers have faced allegations and simply disappeared from public attention?
- How many survivors are still carrying the consequences years later?
- Does criminal acquittal answer every question about institutional accountability?
- What responsibility should a professional sports team have beyond the criminal courts?
- What message does this send to young athletes about consent?
- What message does it send to survivors about speaking up?
- Seven years after the MMIWG National Inquiry, why are families still talking about delays and lack of accountability?
- How many reports and Calls for Justice do we need before institutions actually change?
- Who is accountable when everyone says someone else is responsible?
sexual violence, sexual assault, consent, hockey canada, alex formenton, accountability, survivors, MMIWG, calls for justice, institutional responsibility
#sexualassault #sexualviolence #consent #hockeycanada #accountability #survivors #MMIWG #callsforjustice #believesurvivors #endsexualviolence
