<div dir="ltr"><div>All,</div><div>Please find attached and below Lisa Timpf's review of Evan Moore, <i>Game Misconduct: Hockey's Toxic Culture and how to Fix It.</i></div><div>Thanks,</div><div>Duncan</div><div><br></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Lisa
Timpf<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">72 Oak
St.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Simcoe,
Ontario<span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">email: </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="mailto:lisa.timpf@gmail.com" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">lisa.timpf@gmail.com</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA"><span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Word
count: Approx. 950<span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Moore, Evan F. and Jashvina Shah. <i>Game
Misconduct: Hockey’s Toxic Culture and How to Fix It.</i> Triumph Books, 2021.
256 pp. $28.00.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Reviewed
by Lisa Timpf<span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Game
Misconduct: Hockey’s Toxic Culture and How to Fix It</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">
by Evan Moore and Jashvina Shah takes a broad-ranging look at the sport of
hockey as it intersects with a number of parameters, including racism, sexism,
and homophobia. Though the authors are critical of many aspects of hockey’s
culture, the book is written with constructive intent. As Moore notes in the
Epilogue, “I love hockey. And when I love something, I want to make it better.”
(p. 233) At the same time, he acknowledges that “hockey culture needs an
intervention—therapy, at least.” (p. 233) <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">The
book is smoothly written, and the authors’ passion for the game shines through.
The book’s readability should be no surprise, given the fact that both authors
are experienced journalists. Moore has covered culture and entertainment for
the <i>Chicago Sun-Times</i>, and has written for <i>Rolling Stone, Huffington
Post,</i> and <i>Ebony.</i> Jashvina Shah is a multimedia reporter who covers
college hockey and social issues in sports. Her writing has been published in <i>The
Globe and Mail, The Athletic,</i> and <i>College Hockey News</i>, among other
venues.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">The
book begins with chapters on hockey culture and the structure of hockey, focussing
mainly on the United States and Canada. Once this groundwork has been set,
individual chapters then delve into the various themes covered by the book: racism;
sexism and sexual violence; bullying, hazing, and abuse; women’s hockey;
ableism; and homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia. A chapter titled “Why It
Happens and How to Fix It” provides examples of actions that can be taken to
make hockey more inviting and inclusive for players at all levels.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">The
authors blend input from a variety of sources to make their case, including interviews
with current and former players and other relevant individuals as well as their
own personal experience. Reference to studies, books, and news events provide
deeper background. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Though
the book provides some historic context for how we got here, it is also up to
date on the issues. Relatively recent situations like Akim Aliu speaking out
about his experiences with racism and the hazing lawsuit brought forward by
Daniel Carcillo and Garrett Taylor are discussed in the book, as are other occurrences.
<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Not
all of the issues discussed are unique to hockey, and the authors acknowledge
that, commenting on other sports, like football and basketball, where
appropriate. However, Moore and Shah make a case that some of the issues are
more severe in hockey than in other sports and offer some views as to why this
might be so. The insular nature of the hockey development model, where
promising players with elite talent are pulled away from their families and
sent to live in other cities with billet families, is one contributing factor. Separated
from home and their friends, elite players’ primary influences become their
billet families, coaches, and teammates, and this both reinforces the status
quo and also makes them more vulnerable to issues like hazing and abuse. The
primarily white, cishet nature of the majority of high-level coaches and power
brokers, the emphasis on toxic masculinity, the expectation of conformity, the
code of silence, and the tendency for hero worship also play a role in shaping
and reinforcing hockey’s current culture, as do other factors.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Game
Misconduct</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA"> provides a refreshingly candid look at
the sport. There will no doubt be some who bristle at the book’s assertions.
But as a gay woman who has played house league hockey, a former sportswriter
who has covered university women’s hockey, and a long-time hockey fan, I can attest
that the book rings true in those areas where it intersects with my own
identities and experiences. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">As
though to underscore <i>Game Misconduct’s</i> message, while I was reading the
book, a news story broke about an incident at a hockey tournament in Prince
Edward Island in which players from an opposing team in the stands directed
racial slurs at a Black goalie—further evidence, if anyone needed it, that
racism continues to be an issue for the sport.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Can
things change? Moore and Shah note that “hockey, historically, has dragged its
feet at every turn when it comes to social justice.” (p. 72) As well, the “rising
costs of hockey are also a barrier to cultivating a diverse player base.” (p.
205) Hockey’s organizational structure perpetuates the status quo: “Hockey
exists in its own bubble. . . . It’s composed mostly of boys and men who are
white, cishet, straight, and upper-class. And those who play often become
coaches and teach the same values to the next generation.” (p. 1) In addition, the
emphasis on conformity within the sport contributes to “a culture of
silence—anyone who is different is afraid to speak out.” (p. 2) It won’t be easy
making revolutionary change, even if there becomes a widespread will to do so.
But all is not lost.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">While
the authors acknowledge that changing hockey’s culture is a complex undertaking,
and diagnosing the problems requires “a deep dive into how we got here,” (p.
229), they also provide examples of programs that are making a positive impact,
even now—programs like Coaching Boys Into Men, SCORE Boston Hockey, and Snider
Hockey. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:200%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA">Game
Misconduct</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="EN-CA"> leaves the reader with plenty to think
about, even though some of the chapters are simply scratching the surface. As
the authors note, the section on women’s hockey could merit a book unto itself.
Still, you need to start somewhere, and as an overview of the issues, <i>Game
Misconduct</i> is a good resource. In the Epilogue, Moore notes that his
intention in co-writing the book was to “kick-start a long-overdue
conversation.” (p. 234) <i>Game Misconduct: Hockey’s Toxic Culture and How to
Fix It</i> has the potential to do just that. <span></span></span></p>
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</div><div><i></i></div><div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">Remember to smell the roses as you recumber past<br><br>Duncan R. Jamieson, Ph. D.<br>Professor of History<br>Book Review Editor<br><i>AETHLON: The Journal of Sport Literature</i><br>Ashland University<br>Ashland, OH 44805<br>USA<br></div></div></div></div>