Former Local Junior Hockey Player Involved in Manitoba Hazing Case

It’s one of the darker sides of sports, but hazing is present at various levels. Hazing is defined as a ritual or activities involving harrassment, abuse, or humiliation to initiate a person into a group, in this case, a junior hockey team in Manitoba.

Former Wallaceburg Lakers and Chatham Maroons player Brad Biggers, 21, allegedly was present during a recent hazing incident in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, involving the Neepawa Natives. Biggers, who was serving his first season as an assistant coach with the team, resigned on Thursday and has been indefinitely suspended by the MJHL.

The incident came to light after a mother and her 15-year-old son who was allegedly hazed in the situation, brought the issue to league officials. Sixteen players from the team and the team’s head coach, along with Biggers, who is being pointed to as the only team official present, have been suspended.

According to CBC News, the parents of the 15-year-old player who came forward, claim that the rookie players on the team were made to dance around the dressing room, and drag water bottles around the room that were tied to their genitals.

In a release, the MJHL said that Biggers was suspended for “not promptly reporting his knowledge of hazing activity among the players.”

Biggers, from Forest, Ontario, played 12 games for the Chatham Maroons in 2007-2008 before joining the Wallaceburg Lakers for the remainder of the season. Biggers then moved to play Junior in the MJHL.

In a league release, MJHL commissioner Kim Davis had this to say about the alleged actions and resulting suspensions, “The message from the MJHL is clear. This type of activity is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. There is no excuse for this type of inappropriate behavior.”