Junior Hockey Coach Suspended and Fined For Letting Team Study For Finals

Stand-in for every middle-aged Canadian male ever, Brian Cranford, has been suspended for one year from coaching his junior hockey team. He was also fined $2,000.00. Cranford is a volunteer coach for the Mount Pearl Junior Blades and, during a recent tournament, he allowed his team to miss the opening ceremony so that they could study for exams.

Cranford said it was hard enough getting the kids (18 to 20-year-olds) to show up for the games, so he let them skip the ceremony to study and notified those who required notification. But Jack Lee, Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador president, was having none of it. Teams participating in the tournament were required to participate fully from start to finish.

That seems pretty reasonable. It's certainly a fair argument to question why this team even entered the tournament if the coach was struggling to get the kids to show up for the games, let alone worthless ceremonies.

The counter, obviously, is that a year-long suspension and $2,000.00 fine for a volunteer junior hockey coach is fucking crazy overboard. Cranford appealed both, but was denied. This story will continue, though. Cranford has lawyered up and will take this thing all the way to the top: Hockey Canada.

h/t Joe L. Hockey coach banned after team skips ceremony to study [CBC]