Urheilu’s expert Topi Nättinen hopes that people other than those observing the sport from outside would start talking about the problematic culture of hockey.
Urheilu’s ice hockey expert Top Nättinen does not consider it a coincidence that two criminal cases have become public within a short period of time in the hockey men’s SM league, in one case the district court has issued a verdict and in the other case the prosecution has proceeded.
– If you want to define them as individual cases that are not related to each other, then I think that is lying. This is about a much bigger problem. Change cannot come from anywhere but from within the sport, says Nättinen.
Last week JYP player Severi Lahtinen, 24, received a two-year unconditional prison sentence from the district court for rape. The verdict is not yet legally binding, so you can appeal it to the Court of Appeal. Lahtinen has denied his guilt and said he will take the case to the Court of Appeal.
Tappara’s player on Thursday Top Rönni, 19, said in the club’s announcement that he is accused of rape. Rönni is out of the team’s activities for the time being.
During the past year, rumblings of racist and homophobic yelling have also been revealed in the field of hockey. According to Nättinen, all the cases are mild manifestations of the conversational culture that is stubbornly embedded in hockey.
– The discussion culture in ice hockey, even when it comes to sex and women, is boastful, macho, masculine and really toxic. Bragging is everyday, Nättinen opens a locker room culture.
Nättinen emphasizes that the discussion culture does not encourage rape or accept sexual violence.
– But when you combine it with intoxicants and the kind of immortality that many privileged hockey players have in this country, it is no coincidence that this has happened, Nättinen states.
Nättinen, who finished his career as a professional ice hockey player last year, says that he could not escape the culture of the sport in any club. The rules of the game had to be silently swallowed if you wanted to remain a member of the community.
– Certain standards are acceptable. A really rough and clear example is that heterosexuality is acceptable and homosexuality is not. It matters how you dress and what kind of car you drive, says Nättinen.
He believes that abuses from years ago will emerge in the near future, because the Me too movement against sexual harassment seems to have reached hockey as well.
– In all five league clubs I represented, more or less mental violence happened. It doesn’t deal with mental health or talk about difficult things, but wins and losses. The activity in the booths has been really fierce. At the time I thought this was part of the genre, but now a bit outside I hope people will tell their stories and report abuse.
The hockey crowd is quiet
Topi Nättinen is surprised that improprieties are kept quiet in hockey circles. For example, the SM league has so far not commented on either of the criminal cases to Urheilu.
– I’m quite inconsolable that this won’t wake up yet either. Now hockey has a huge opportunity to start thinking about what belongs to the culture of the sport and the tacitly accepted rules of the game. If we don’t wake up to this now, hockey will soon no longer be a sport that parents want their children to play, Nättinen says.
According to Nättinen, the recent criminal cases as well as, for example, previous incidents of racist and homophobic shouting are proof that hockey players are not detached from society. In Nättinen’s opinion, the Jääkäikkoliitto handled, for example, the case of racism against Pelicans Junior and his coach “incomprehensibly badly”.
Nättinen now expects a reaction from the union and the rest of the sports community: systematic statements and a willingness to clean up the sports culture.
– If you want to see some light in this, public pressure has increased and explanations are required as to whether the hockey environment is really like this. But I’m a little afraid that the story will continue to write itself and we’ll keep quiet as we have until now.