12-year-old girl banned from Saskatchewan Hockey
12 year Berkeley Trayhorne has been playing hockey with her buddies since she was five years old. Now, at age 12 she's told that she's no longer welcome.
A CBC report from journalist Bonnie Allen is shedding light on Berkeley's story and the decision made by Delmeny Minor Hockey Association (DMHA) in Dalmeny, SK (25 km from Saskatoon) to give her a permanent ban. A dispute between Berkeley's parents Rod and Laurelea Trayhorne and the DMHA began when the Trayhorne's insisted on equal dressing room access for Berkeley on a co-ed team of mostly boys. The Trayhorne's argue that because all the children (boys and girls) arrive to the rink fully dressed in under-gear and leggings, there should be no issue. The DMHA though says that they can't be at fault for putting Berkeley in a "potentially compromising situation".
More from Allen's CBC report:
For this story, CBC News contacted board members who all settled on one main reason to deny Berkeley access: it was too risky to have unchaperoned boys in a dressing room with a girl, even a fully-dressed one. They cited the need to "protect both genders from a potentially compromising situation," and clarified that meant bullying, sexual harassment, or even assault.
"It's an effort to protect males or females from anything that could be said or mistaken in the dressing room...[assault] might be an extreme case but it could be a possibility, right?" said Kyle Rathgeber, president of the DMHA, adding that he felt a coach or parent would have to be in the room at all times and he couldn't guarantee that would be the case. "So again you're just trying to protect everyone from things that could happen."
Credit: HockeyFeed
