The past decade has seen remarkable progress in protections for pregnant athletes. In 2020, FIFA and the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA) introduced mandatory paid maternity leave. The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) also has paid maternity leave and maintains that no player can be released from their team due to[Read More…]
Behind the Bench
No more Pride: The slow erosion of 2SLGBTQIA+ initiatives across the NHL
Pride night at hockey games always presents itself as somewhat of an oxymoron. Like all major men’s professional sports leagues, homophobia courses through the veins of hockey from youth leagues all the way up to the National Hockey League (NHL). So often, players, coaches, and analysts not only fail as[Read More…]
How the Habs let down their stars
The Montreal Canadiens are having nothing short of an absolute dumpster fire of a season this year. Currently sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic division, the Canadiens have a 0.1 per cent chance of making the playoffs, on par with their performance last season. With troubles coming from every[Read More…]
Dear Buffalo Sabres: A letter from an aggrieved fan
When I tell people I’m a Buffalo Sabres fan, I get one of two extreme reactions: A look of shock, or one of disappointment. Everyone knows that being a Sabres fan is a merciless and unforgiving job, one that breaks you down until you find yourself cheering for any ounce[Read More…]
Decolonizing tennis, tournaments, and talent
When the greatest of all time, Serena Williams, made a return to tennis this past June, she decided to play doubles on the grass at the Eastbourne International. Looking for an in-form partner, she called up the talented Tunisian Ons Jabeur. Jabeur, the first Arab woman to break into the[Read More…]
Off the diving board and into the world
My first-ever diving lesson ended with a 20-minute cry on the three-metre springboard and then a tearful drive home where I begged my dad not to make me go back. I have three main defences of myself here: I was eight years old, terrified of heights, and there against my[Read More…]
Mitchell Miller and hockey culture’s continued failure
Content warning: Racism, ableism, physical assault, bullying What comes to mind when you think of hockey culture? Sexual assault? Hazing? Racism? There is no doubt that the culture of Canada’s game is a travesty to all those it touches. The recent Hockey Canada scandal has provoked an unprecedented level of[Read More…]
The NBA: Notoriously Bad (at) Accountability
From its inception, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has not only been an arena for high-flying hoopers, but also for advocates for equitable sport. The league began as an all-white initiative following the commercialization of the sport in 1946. Black athletes began to be integrated in 1950, but did not[Read More…]
Running should produce feelings of freedom, not fear
CW: Mention of physical and sexual assault On Sept. 2, Eliza Fletcher was abducted during her morning run in Memphis, Tennessee. Three days later, Fletcher’s body was found in a vacant lot roughly seven miles from where she was taken. The tragedy of Fletcher’s death reaffirms the constant dangers of[Read More…]
McGill must stop resisting before Athletics ceases existing
As another school year draws to a close, it offers an opportunity to reflect on the areas of the McGill community that have evolved—as well as those that have stayed tragically stagnant. A year marked by the return to in-person classes, sports games, social events, and cycles of relaxed restrictions[Read More…]
