Four Canadian hockey players stay suspended nationally despite sexual assault acquittal
An independent appeals board has ruled that four of five Canadian hockey players acquitted of sexual assault last year still breached Hockey Canada's code of conduct and remain barred from the national team, while a fifth, Alex Formenton, is being reinstated immediately.
An independent appeals board has ruled that four former members of Canada's world junior hockey team violated Hockey Canada's code of conduct and should remain suspended from all national programmes, despite being acquitted of sexual assault last year. The players are Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Carter Hart. A fifth player, Alex Formenton, was also found to have breached the code, but is being reinstated immediately.
The case stems from an incident in a hotel room in London, Ontario, in 2018, when the players were in town for a gala. In July 2025, Justice Maria Carroccia acquitted all five, saying she did not find the accuser's testimony, from a woman known as EM, credible or reliable. The court heard EM met the players at a bar and later went to a hotel room, where she initially agreed to have consensual sex with McLeod before other players entered and further sexual acts occurred. The trial centred on whether EM, then 20, had consented to everything that happened. Defence lawyers argued EM had invited the sexual activity and the players believed she consented, while EM testified she was intoxicated and afraid.
The appeals board's ruling has no bearing on the players' NHL careers, since the league operates independently of Hockey Canada and ran its own separate investigation. All five were cleared by the NHL to sign new contracts late last year.
While Formenton can rejoin Hockey Canada-sanctioned programmes at once, the others face lengthy waits: Foote becomes eligible on 10 November this year, Hart in 2027, Dube in 2028, and McLeod not until 2030. No explanation was given for the differing timelines. Canada's secretary of sport, Adam van Koeverden, said the case sparked a national conversation about safety in sport and toxic culture within men's hockey, crediting survivors' courage for driving reform, while noting Hockey Canada has made progress addressing systemic problems and that sports organisations must be held accountable.
