Compiled from the public record. Not affiliated with any outlet named below

The Coverage

What everyone else has written

Where it started

The story that broke it open (opens in a new tab)

Rick Westhead reveals the quiet settlement of a $3.55 million civil claim involving 2018 World Junior players.

TSN, May 2022

The National Equity Fund (opens in a new tab)

How registration fees were used to build a fund that paid sexual-assault settlements since 1989.

The Globe and Mail, July 2022

The full ruling, R. v. McLeod (opens in a new tab)

Justice Carroccia’s complete reasons acquitting all five accused. The primary document.

Ontario Superior Court, 2025 ONSC 4319 (opens in a new tab)

The verdict, July 24, 2025

All five former players found not guilty (opens in a new tab)

After a mistrial, then a second jury discharged, a judge-alone trial ended in acquittals on all counts. The Crown did not appeal.

August 12, 2026: Hockey Canada appeal board confirms all five breached its code of conduct (opens in a new tab).

The decision turned on the Crown’s burden and the judge’s credibility and consent analysis. Coverage spanned the courthouse steps, the legal bar, and the wider debate about the sport’s culture. The links across this page gather the reporting, the primary documents, and the range of opinion that followed, from outlets across Canada, the US, and beyond.

“Analyzing Justice Carroccia’s verdict.”

The Globe and Mail, legal analysis

(opens in a new tab)

“A statement in support of E.M., despite the verdict.”

Anova, London, Ontario

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Primary Documents

The written decisionCourtCanLII, 2025 ONSC 4319 (opens in a new tab)“Safe Sport in Canada” reportParliamentHouse of Commons (PDF) (opens in a new tab)Cromwell governance reviewReviewThomas Cromwell, 221pp (PDF) (opens in a new tab)NHL reinstatement statementNHLNHL media, Sept 11, 2025 (opens in a new tab)Hockey Canada on the chargesOrgHockey Canada, Feb 2024 (opens in a new tab)

On Screen

Video coverage & interviews

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Charges, Trial & Verdict

Five players charged with sexual assaultNHL.com, January 2024 (opens in a new tab)Police detail the case against the playersESPN, 2024 (opens in a new tab)Inside the judge-alone trial and its reasoningWHYY (opens in a new tab)The five, after the verdictDaily Hive (opens in a new tab)

The Reinstatement Fight

NHL says the five are ineligible; NHLPA pushes backYahoo Sports, Sept 2025 (opens in a new tab)“Ineligible to play,” the league’s positionTSN, 2025 (opens in a new tab)NHL statement on the players’ statusNHL.com, primary source (opens in a new tab)NHL sets reinstatement datesCNN (AP), September 12, 2025 (opens in a new tab)Suspensions end; the five become eligible December 1The Hockey News, 2025 (opens in a new tab)The reinstatement timeline, explainedCBC Sports, Dec 2025 (opens in a new tab)

The Investigations

Long reads & documentaries

Investigation

Inside the 2018 allegations

The Athletic’s deep reconstruction of the night and Hockey Canada’s handling of it.

The Athletic / NYT, 2022 (opens in a new tab)Documentary

Anatomy of a Scandal

The Fifth Estate’s 44-minute film on the scandal and the national reckoning.

CBC, Sept 2022 (opens in a new tab)Investigation

The hidden discipline system

How a family’s appeal exposed Hockey Canada’s confidential discipline machinery.

TSN, Rick Westhead (opens in a new tab)Timeline

The running explainer

ESPN’s continually updated timeline of the scandal, from charges onward.

ESPN (opens in a new tab)International

The verdict, abroad

BBC News coverage of the acquittals for an international audience.

BBC, July 2025 (opens in a new tab)Analysis

Why it matters beyond the verdict

CNN on what the trial means for consent law and sport, with E.M.’s civil lawyer.

CNN, July 2025 (opens in a new tab)

The Wider Record

Other players, other headlines

Separate matters involving other current and former players, listed with their stated legal outcomes. Each is independent of the case above; all individuals are entitled to the presumption of innocence.

Patrick KaneNo charges, 2015

A 2015 sexual-assault investigation in Buffalo closed without charges.

CNN (opens in a new tab)Sports Illustrated (opens in a new tab)

Jake VirtanenAcquitted, 2022

The former Canucks forward was found not guilty of sexual assault.

The Hockey News (opens in a new tab)ESPN (opens in a new tab)

Evander KaneCharges dismissed, 2017

Misdemeanor charges from a Buffalo bar incident were dismissed after an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.

ESPN (opens in a new tab)CBC (opens in a new tab)

Semyon VarlamovCase dropped, 2013

Domestic-violence charges were dropped by Colorado prosecutors.

CBC (opens in a new tab)Bleacher Report (opens in a new tab)

Mike RibeiroMixed outcome, 2024

Acquitted of two sexual-assault counts involving two women; the jury hung on a third count involving a different woman. Before the retrial on that count, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of indecent assault. The plea resolved the deadlocked count, not the acquittals.

WFAA (opens in a new tab)Lawyer Monthly (opens in a new tab)

Logan MaillouxFined in Sweden, 2020

Fined in Sweden for sharing a photo without consent; asked teams not to draft him but was picked anyway.

ESPN (opens in a new tab)Globe and Mail (opens in a new tab)

Gavin McKennaFelony charge withdrawn, 2026

The district attorney withdrew a felony aggravated-assault charge in February 2026; misdemeanor charges remained at that time.

Daily Faceoff (opens in a new tab)Yahoo Sports (opens in a new tab)

The longer listOverview

A wider roundup of NHL players who have faced serious criminal charges.

ESPN (opens in a new tab)

Opinion & Analysis

Could the verdict break new ground on consent?The Globe and Mail (opens in a new tab)Consent confusion and the trialPolicy Options, IRPP (opens in a new tab)A debate on gender, consent, and sport cultureCBC News (opens in a new tab)How the verdict played in the manosphereThe Globe and Mail (opens in a new tab)A just legal outcome, but not the end of the storyThe Hub, defense-sympathetic (opens in a new tab)

Beyond This Case

Kyle Beach v. the Chicago BlackhawksUnited States, Jenner & Block report (opens in a new tab)Graham James, the WHL coach, sentence increasedCanada, R. v. James, 2013 MBCA 14 (opens in a new tab)Carcillo v. the CHL, the class actionCanada, 2025 ONCA 652 (opens in a new tab)SafeSport disciplinary database (filter: Ice Hockey)United States, searchable registry (opens in a new tab)CanLII, all Canadian court decisionsCanada, free legal database (opens in a new tab)

TSN breaks the settlement story, May 2022Parliament summons Hockey Canada, June 2022Sponsors pause funding, Oct 2022CEO and board step down, Oct 2022Five players charged, January 2024Mistrial, then a second jury discharged, April to May 2025All five found not guilty, July 24, 2025Crown declines to appeal, Aug 2025NHL sets reinstatement terms, Sept 2025Hockey Canada appeal board confirms all five breached its code of conduct, August 12, 2026TSN breaks the settlement story, May 2022Parliament summons Hockey Canada, June 2022Sponsors pause funding, Oct 2022CEO and board step down, Oct 2022Five players charged, January 2024Mistrial, then a second jury discharged, April to May 2025All five found not guilty, July 24, 2025Crown declines to appeal, Aug 2025NHL sets reinstatement terms, Sept 2025Hockey Canada appeal board confirms all five breached its code of conduct, August 12, 2026

The Coverage is a reading room of third-party journalism, compiled from the public record. Game Misconducts is independent commentary and activism and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any outlet, person, team, or league named here. All five accused were found not guilty of all charges (R. v. McLeod et al. (opens in a new tab), Ont. S.C.J., July 24, 2025); the Crown did not appeal. Links open the original publishers. Some articles are paywalled. The complainant is protected by a publication ban and is known only as E.M.

Last updated: October 27, 2026