The University of Saskatchewan has suspended Huskies men’s hockey coach Dave Adolph for two games following a team email the coach admitted contained homophobic remarks.
“The words that I chose to use in our email were both inappropriate and unprofessional. The comments were homophobic slang, something that I’m not very proud,” Adolph said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
The Huskies coach called the press conference himself, independent from the university. He wouldn’t clarify if it was Huskie Athletics or university administration that handed down the suspension.
The university’s media relations department wouldn’t comment on the details of the suspension but said they are committed to a safe environment for all staff and students and that they hope to ensure events like this don't happen again.
Adolph will miss two home games this weekend against the Calgary Dinos. He said derogatory language frequently used in hockey dressing rooms needs to stop.
“This language and the hockey slang that we use in our sport and most sports — certainly in the heat of the battle in our hockey culture — needs to change.”
Adolph told media he was fully supportive of programs such as You Can Play, a project encouraging players, coaches and sports enthusiasts to welcome athletes who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. The project was co-founded by Patrick Burke, son of Calgary Flames president Brian Burke, and is an official partner of the NHL.
“I fully support everything they do. We need to create an environment that is safe and acceptable for everybody, both male and female, on our campus and in our sport of hockey. I fully believe and support all those groups and I’m sorry to all those people who I may have offended in my email.”
