Let's try mixed-sex ice hockey!

[NecessaryScene]

It looks like some genius in the NHL decided it would be a good idea to do some mixed-sex ice hockey, as an "All-Trans Draft Tournament". Jon Kay reports here:

quillette.com/2022/12/09/ignoring-biological-reality-puts-female-hockey-players-at-risk/

This happened in mid-November, but they appear to have avoided publicising the event. It wasn't pretty.

Aside from a tweet containing four photos of the November 19th–20th event, the NHL provided no substantive information about how the tournament unfolded. Nor did media outlets such as Hockey News, whose reporting consisted instead of cheery tournament summaries (“The arena was just buzzing with trans joy for two solid days”) sourced to the organizers’ social media accounts.

Vice sent a five-person film crew to cover the tournament, including two cameramen, but so far hasn’t reported anything on what that unit filmed. So as far as I know, in fact, I’m the first person to publicly report the events described below.

[...]

A single team, Pink, ended up stacked with physically imposing biological men (i.e., trans women). And by no coincidence, that team also went on to become tournament champion.

This awkward outcome may help explain why no one involved with the tournament seemed anxious to publicize event details once things were over. Team Pink’s victory over Black in the finals—which I was able to watch on video, along with all the other games—was an embarrassing 7–1 rout. According to one rink-side source who attended the tournament, Team Pink players even called a meeting during the second period in order to discuss whether it would be best to end the game prematurely. [...] Team Pink’s she/hers were evidently instructed to stop running up the score, with #29 being relegated to defensive duty.

[...]

“I don’t know how the teams were made,” that aforementioned rink-side source told me. “But any [fan] could see that this couldn’t possibly be fair, and that someone could get hurt—and someone did.”

That someone was Team Black player #91, a self-described FTM (female-to-male transgender) player who was pushed to the ice by a much larger she/her member of Team Pink—#90, who self-describes publicly as “a bisexual trans woman”—with three minutes left in the first period. The contact doesn’t look particularly serious when you watch it on video. It may even have been entirely accidental. But the size imbalance between the two skaters was so great that the Team Black player ended up being propelled head first into the boards with enough force to deliver a concussion.

As the Vice crew continued to film, players clustered around the seemingly knocked-out #91. Shortly thereafter, a panicky voice booms out from amid the scrum, “Get a stretcher! Get a medic!” And the audience, which had formerly been burbling enthusiastically in response to the arena announcer’s trans-positive patter, fell silent. It would take more than 17 minutes for the head-injured player to be placed on a stretcher and wheeled off the ice. When the game eventually re-started, a subdued mood persisted till the final buzzer.

A video of that incident is at the linked piece, as if we needed another nasty M-v-F sports injury video.

For fuck's sake.

For Fuck's Sake alright Necessary.

This is appalling. And the injury could have significant life long impacts if it was concussion.

Thanks for posting.

Hopefully this will be shared far and wide.

It is like the Guam Rugby where 3 females were injured by a male playing in a competition for female people.

Christ on a cracker! Is there a less suitable team sport to attempt this experiment with?

Maybe American Football?

But this would never ever happen!

"It would take more than 17 minutes for the head-injured player to be placed on a stretcher and wheeled off the ice. When the game eventually re-started, a subdued mood persisted till the final buzzer."

That female had barely got onto the ice. And yes, it is likely that it was not a deliberate attempt to tackle in that way, but the effect was that they were so quickly and easily overpowered by the male in pink.

Team Black (largely biologically female, right?) don’t even seem to be wearing as much padded protective gear as is usually seen when women are playing other women!

Obvs a better quality video would help discern this for sure. C’mon Vice, release the tapes!

I hope the injured player makes a full recovery and is able to access compo for the medical bills/time off work etc. Whoever organised this event should, imo, be held legally liable for what is an entirely predictable injury, especially as the game and it’s score had demonstrated how unevenly matched the sides were by half time.

Single sex leagues, age divisions and when relevant weight/size classes aren’t just for fair competition, but for safety too.

I suspect that the organisers thought that if it wasn't reported, then it could be said that it 'didn't' Eresh.

Awful and all as that injury looked and clearly was, I am more apalled by what looks like attempts to cover it up. The statement from the injured player makes it sound like they tripped and caused the injury themselves. And then to warn people that the video and pictures are sensitive, basically saying "don't watch". This person clearly values the narrative of the wonderful inclusivity of mixed sex ice hockey ahead of their own personal safety and the safety of other females.

It never happens. And if it did happen it was a freak accident that was the injured player's own fault. There's no way to prove otherwise, and even if there is video evidence, don't watch it. The mental gymnastics required to make this look ok, must be exhausting.

I am more apalled by what looks like attempts to cover it up.

I agree. Something dumb and dangerous happening is one thing. Trying to conceal it lest it make the regime look bad is worse. The regime is more important than people and their safety or rights.

And then seeing people who are directly affected apparently feeling compelled to join in on the cover-up is worse still. As Kay writes about the female player's post:

Reading this self-blaming narrative reminded me of those stories about women in troubled relationships who tell friends they got their black eye from walking into a door.

Wow, that's terrible. My teen sons all play Rugby and footabll and I find it horrifying to think of there being event the largest, toughest girl the same age as them on the field with them. Even an adult female rugby player would have to be seriously tough to play with their school A team Rugby players I think, unusually so maybe. It would be so dangerous. I am actually pleased that my 18y old is stopping playing Rubgy as he has been involved in incidents over the years where 3 or 4 smaller kids have broken bones, many have been knocked unconcious. My youngest has just started secondary school and already one kid has broken his wrist in rugby and another been knocked out in football. He has a broken finger from football. I dont think people realise what happends to little boys during late puberty. It has been incredible to watch. It is not the same as female pubery where we gradually get bigger and stronger. Their strength increases exponentially, sometimes seemingly overnight and they get massively bigger bodies very quickly and often take awhile to adjust, hence all the accidents.

I remember my mother constantly at A and E with my brother and now I realise why. The testosterone causes it but I think it somehow cushions them a bit as well. They seem to deal with constant breaks, bruises, aches and pains much better than I would have done as a teenager. I have never broken a bone in my life. It would be so dangerous to have females on pitches with boys playing rugby or even football at a reasonable level once they get to 15/16 I feel. As a committed feminist I never though I would have that view, but having boys has changed my mind. We are equal but not the same, physically.

Mixed sex field hockey is well established, 5 of each sex plus goalie who can be either. I don't know what their injury rate is like; afaik it's not supposed to be a contact sport but there must be accidental collisions though I would guess not with the same speed and lack of braking as ice hockey.
I wonder if they're allowing unbalanced teams now?

That was a jaw-dropping article. It is like they all live in never-never land.

Yeah yeah injuries and unfairness, but "trans joy" trumps all else ffs

I have often thought one of the problems here is that (rather ironically) people tend to think in binary ways. The fact that humans come in two different kinds, female and male, doesn't mean that one is better and the other is worse. Male bodies are stronger and taller on average. Female bodies are wonderfully complex and (usually) capable of carrying a baby to term and making milk to feed that baby. In other respects males and females are mostly quite similar, certainly in terms of our capability to do the kind of jobs available in a modern service-based economy.

That's true enough Gaspode, but I'm not quite sure of the direct relevance to mixed sex sports where the basic physical differences between men and women is so obvious?

Mixed sex field hockey is well established, 5 of each sex plus goalie who can be either.

Real mixed-sex sport is kind of the polar opposite to this - they're run by people who know what sex is and that sex matters, and they set up the rules accordingly, paying attention to players' sex.

This is "mixed-sex-while-everyone-involved-is-compelled-to-pretend-sex-doesn't-matter-and-we-don't-know-what-sex-anyone-is" sport. Utter lunacy.

Couldn't agree more. I've played both mixed and single sex sports for many years and playing transwoman who believes themselves to be a woman and who plays at their full strength is completely different to playing male who knows they are male and appreciates and mitigates the risks of their biological advantages.

'Team Trans’ thread continued. “We carried in our hearts the names of our siblings who’d died at the hands of transphobic murderers, our siblings who have died of suicide, our siblings who have died because some people believe that we deserve to die for living our truth.”'

Crikey. I don't know anything much about ice hockey; does it usually involve vengeance-and-martyrdom speeches?

I sincerely hope they never have to add (though I suppose they'd omit) 'our trans brothers accidentally mowed down by our trans sisters'.

@SmartWatch my dD plays Rugby. Shes only allowed to play Mixed to U11s. If there is one U12 playing (you can mix up or down a year) no girls can play.

Until self ID intrudes...

It was in response to the final couple of sentences of SmartWatch's post.

They're like people who choose not to believe lighting a match around a gas leak is dangerous until they've given it a go.

Notice the first comment?
“Obviously TW shouldn’t play in elite sports, but if adults choose to play mixed sex at a lower level, that’s their choice” It’s not really a quote. I’m paraphrasing.

Point is, if TW are allowed to join women’s teams, the women aren’t really choosing are they? Their choice is play with TW, with all the inherent risks, or don’t play at all (and be called bigot for prioritising your safety)

Has anyone else seen the pronouncement from New Zealand earlier this week? All amateur sports encouraged to be Self ID... (Although it is up to each sport).

Wowzers. Who thought that was a good idea?

Different ball (puck) game but there are women on DH’s roller hockey team. They’re v tough but tiny compared to the men. Obviously.

And roller hockey is ‘no checking’ ie lots less violence is allowed. And they’re not a v good team. But still pretty brutal 😄