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It’s been an exciting few months for professor and researcher, Teresa Fowler. This week she testified at the House of Commons, and in the past months she’s been interviewed on national television and radio talking about research that could change the culture of hockey and sports in Canada. 

Teresa, an assistant professor of education at Concordia University of Edmonton, is part of a team with Drs Shannon D.M. Moore and Tim Skuce that interviewed elite-level men’s hockey players about their experiences with sexism, misogyny and hypermasculinity in the sport. Her research shows the problem is pervasive, enduring and systematic.

Teresa is a member of Scholars Against Abuse in Canadian Sport that have partnered with Center for Children’s Rights to push for a judicial inquiry into the sport. Now she is working directly with Hockey Canada to make changes happen. 

“If we really want to generate change we need to look forward,” says Teresa. “Hockey Canada may have made some bad decisions, but we need to get to the root of the issue. There is a level of unhealthy masculinity – and until we have healthy men, these problems will continue.”

Teresa Fowler, Assistant Professor, Education

The systems and privileges set up for white men have been part of the problem, and to create equity within the Canadian system for players, women and minorities, there needs to be more accountability for the unhealthy practices currently taking place.

With changes in our lexicon, and a spotlight on toxic male behaviour,  including the Me Too movement, men are realizing certain behaviours are no longer going to be tolerated. 

“How do you now navigate a world where you need to mourn that loss? – They need to grieve what they thought was healthy masculinity. The crux of it is that unhealthy masculinity is causing boys and men real harm too.” – Teresa

Research included interviews with the top players in the sport 

Teresa’s research team began by interviewing 21 current, former or aspiring NHL players. “Amongst these stories the majority were about their trauma,” Teresa explains. “We all think, what kind of problems could these men have? They’re men that young people aspire to be and everyone looks up to – But when we really got into it there was a lot of fear, and they were trying to fight that fear.”

The harmful aspects of hockey also comes down to the commodification of the sport, says Teresa. Ticket and merchandise sales, broadcast rights and anything that prioritizes financial gain can affect the integrity and spirit of the sport – inevitably leading to the exploitation of players. 

What Teresa and her research team found is that these men were in real pain, so much so that some participants needed therapy, because the pressure of performing at that high level was changing them – and not for the better. 

Demasking toxic masculinity

“I worked this year with the Concordia Men’s hockey team and found they never had a chance to talk about what they were really feeling – so the research was really about listening to them share their stories.  We had a lot to unpack. We discussed the use of homophobic slurs on the ice, for example. At first everyone laughed it off, but when we paused and explored this use of language a bit more, I got them to question why they were laughing. I said, ‘Let’s take a moment, allow ourselves to feel uncomfortable, and consider how we really feel.”

After some self-reflection the team had some fascinating insights. One realization was that “the team could not identify any individual rights, but they could identify team rights. So there was the loss of the individual within the team,” she says. 

To visually portray demasking of toxic masculinity, Teresa had the players write on the outside of a mask how they feel they have to behave for the hockey world to accept them, and on the inside of the mask they wrote down their real feelings – the ones they may have to hide.

Images from a similar, but separate project carried out in 2017

Teresa said this level of toxic masculinity can be seen throughout society, but she chose to study hockey culture because, “It’s almost like a petri dish of society – because hockey is very white.” Teresa also came from a big hockey town in Stratford Ontario, where everyone clamored for the attention of hometown hockey heroes. She saw for herself the power and influence of hockey – which has its foothold in virtually every community throughout Canada.

Although Teresa has received a lot of push back, and some hate mail from forces that want her to take her focus off hockey, it doesn’t deter her. She is an expert in her area – Teresa was named one of 100 game changers by The Hockey News, and Hockey Canada recognizes her value to help them change their culture for the better.  

She said the shift in pressure for a lot of young boys in hockey happens around age 14. Teresa has heard some shocking stories about what boys hear from their coaches in the dressing room, one coach even threatened suicide to make his team feel guilt for losing a game.

Teresa has carried out a lot of research in the coaching field, as chair of the physical education Wellness Department. After Kyle Beach’s testimony came out that he was sexually assaulted while playing for the Chicago Blackhawks, Teresa changed the learning outcomes to explore the power imbalance between coach and athlete.

“CUE students going through the course will better understand power and the role of the coach.” – Teresa

Bring the game back to one of joy not pain

Teresa said she would love to see men come back to the game for the love of playing the sport. There was this moment in the 1950’s where Canadians were always winning gold – when competition from other countries increased, a fierce competition to the top ensued. The race to the podium had changed the sport’s focus. “If we’re not in a sport because we love it, why are we in the sport?”

The stress of the sport, in part, can also be the pressure to be physically aggressive on the ice. For some players the stress is so intense that it leads them to turn to alcohol, or other unhealthy ways to cope. She also says that it’s only in retirement that hockey players speak about the unrealistic pressures they experienced, and it’s difficult for many to speak up when they are active players. For many players their bodies are broken, physically and mentally, she adds. 

Teresa goes as far as to say, as a country we are “grooming” young men into unhealthy forms of masculinity. “We think of grooming as only happening to girls, but it happens to our boys too,” says Teresa. 

For mindset shifts to happen, Teresa says it can start with training team captains.  “We teach them how to stand up to negative behavior, how to support each other so players and coaches are on the same page – captains will be able to call things out when they happen.”

Teresa sees change on the horizon. “The hockey community is thirsty for something different – they want to talk about masculinity, they want to talk about the boys. I am hopeful for the direction our research is having on the game, and people are beginning to step up and do the right thing.”