Building a more respectful sports environment

Just a few months after the official launch of the Elevating Sportsmanship and Empowering Respect campaign, a collaboration between the Sports and Recreation Unit (SRU) of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake and Kahnawake Shakotiia’takéhnhas Community Services (KSCS), its effects can already be felt in community sports, including minor hockey.

“Everything’s been going well. People have been respecting the signage and understanding that referees are humans, coaches are volunteers, and the board members are volunteers,” said SRU director Roiatate Horn.

Although he did not have hard numbers on the difference in incidents reported so far this year versus last year - the Kahnawake Minor Hockey Association (KMHA) did not respond to a request for those numbers from The Eastern Door - he said the number of incidents SRU has had to deal with has been lower, and SRU typically deals with serious incidents that have to be brought up to larger governing bodies.

Part of the campaign’s efforts have been videos on social media from coaches, players, and other members of Kahnawake’s sporting environment talking about some of their experiences with things like bullying, sportsmanship, and respectful interactions in sports.

“This is definitely something that KSCS took and ran with, and we’re very pleased with how everything came out,” said Horn.

“Here in Kahnawake and Kanien’kehá:ka culture, we’re a storytelling people. A lot of our information is transferred through generations and through storytelling, so getting people to talk about their stories and what they’ve dealt with in terms of their journeys in sports, I think that that really goes to connect culturally with the youth and with the adults in the community.”

The videos have included Kahnawake CrossFit coach John Satekaienton Diabo, minor hockey coach Kevin Kawisaienton McComber, and the director of the Kahnawake Youth Center (KYC) Kyle Zacharie.

Zacharie, who is also an assistant coach for the U11A minor hockey team, said that behaviours have already come a long way since he was a kid, and this campaign adds to that positive change.

“I definitely think that not only in our community, but overall, a lot of positive is happening,” said Zacharie.

He said that awareness campaigns and being around people who are working to make sports more positive, whether it be coaches, players, or sports associations, are all contributing factors to improving the sports environment for everyone.

Horn said that making sports more welcoming will also help encourage even more community members to get active and involved.

He gave the example of another issue Indigenous athletes may deal with, racism, and how that can affect young players’ desires to stay in their chosen sport.

“You read in books where athletes were dealing with racism, and unfortunately, some of them decided to pack up and not play sports anymore. So, you lose those athletes, you lose what their potential could have been, whether it’s the star on their minor hockey team or stars in the NHL, or whatever league it may be. That’s a lost opportunity for not only the athlete, but also the community,” said Horn.

As such, keeping sports enjoyable by reducing incidents of things like bullying and disrespect will also keep kids in sports.

Horn thanked all the coaches, volunteers, players, and staff at KSCS and SRU that had worked to make sure the campaign would be adopted throughout the different teams and associations in the community.

“It’s really important that their work and their efforts go noticed,” said Horn.

“It’s really appreciated that we’re seeing a change, and we hope that this change continues and we work forward to making a more inclusive sports landscape for our athletes and everyone involved.”

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