Article content

Hockey culture is changing, we’re told. Instances of abuse or bullying by coaches are to be reported and addressed, not swept under the rug.

Hazing incidents, once commonplace, are no longer tolerated. We take them seriously now, as abuses of authority.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Jets broadcaster's comments tone-deaf and 'sickening to hear' Back to video

What to make, then, of TSN Jets television analyst Kevin Sawyer’s tone-deaf comments during a recent broadcast, and the silence that’s ensued?

Sawyer, a former player and coach, described, with some glee, what sounded like a junior hockey hazing incident during the Jan. 4 broadcast of the Jets at Minnesota.

Sawyer had coached Wild defenceman Jared Spurgeon with the Western League’s Spokane Chiefs.

“Favourite story of Jared Spurgeon,” Sawyer began. “He was a 15-year-old. Two months into the season we saran-wrapped him to a pillar in the arena, about six feet up in the air… he was tiny. He looked like he was 12.”

Sawyer was an assistant coach with Spokane at the time, the 2005-06 season.