Yukon Soccer coach defends suspended U-14 players

A volunteer coach for the Yukon Soccer Association has come to the defence of the three players who were suspended Sunday for hazing fellow teammates at two Outside tournaments.

A volunteer coach for the Yukon Soccer Association has come to the defence of the three players who were suspended Sunday for hazing fellow teammates at two Outside tournaments.

Monique Bennett, who is the coach of the U-12 boys and the U-14 girls teams, said while the three players on the U-14 boys squad made a mistake, they are still good kids and are being treated unfairly in the media.

“I think it has been made out to be more than it is and I think that it’s sad,” she said. “It’s pretty unfortunate for the accused kids to be made out to be the town bullies. For 14 year-old boys to be made out to be criminals by the community is unfortunate.

“They made a mistake, but most people make mistakes. From what we know there were no criminal acts.”

The hazing incidents occurred at a Labour Day tournament in Langley, B.C., and the nationals in October in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

The bullying included one teammate in Langley, who was covered with cellophane, had obscene messages applied to his skin, and was sprayed with water and had his ears filled with toothpaste.

In Charlottetown, two other teammates, called up from a younger team to increase the number of players on the U-14 roster, were also bullied.

The incidents occurred well after midnight and the coach and chaperones that accompanied the team had no knowledge of them occurring.

The association has been dealing with the issue since late October, when it received phone calls from two of the victims’ parents.

The length of the suspensions are not being disclosed by Yukon Soccer because of the age of the players involved.

Yukon Soccer also consulted with the Canadian Soccer Association, local schools in Whitehorse and reviewed various codes of conduct on the Internet before issuing the suspensions.

In addition to the suspension, the three players were required to apologize and will have travel restrictions placed on them by the Yukon Soccer Association.

The hazing incidents have drawn attention nation wide.