The governing body of amateur football in the province has issued written apologies to two teenage girls for the way the organization handled their sexual harassment complaints.
The complaints were filed last fall by the Interlake Thunder Football Club on behalf of two of its players, Isabelle McDonald, 15, and a teammate, stemming from an incident following a Midget Football League of Manitoba game in Stonewall last September.
The apology was issued in a letter obtained by CTV Winnipeg dated March 10, sent to the Thunder by Football Manitoba president Brett Lesperance.
The Thunder alleged one of its female players became the target of sexist comments, and that a second girl was hit on her backside by members of the opposing Falcons Football Club team after the game had ended.
McDonald initially expressed disappointment in the way the league handled her complaint, because no one immediately followed up with her or her teammate after the complaint was filed.
In the apology letter, Football Manitoba said it does not condone what happened and will work to make sure it does not happen again.
"I am writing to express regret for the events you experienced following your game on September 24, 2016. Football Manitoba regrets the fact that you went through a most unpleasant and unacceptable experience after the Midget League football game," Lesperance wrote.
"With the departure of the executive director part way through this process there were delays in communication and follow-up, and I would like to apologize to you on behalf of Football Manitoba for the frustration this will have caused. We are sorry you had to experience these delays."
The apology follows face-to-face meetings held last fall between Football Manitoba and players and representatives from both teams.
McDonald said on Wednesday she appreciates the apology, but is disappointed with how long it took to receive.
“I hope this never happens again,” McDonald told CTV News. “But if say it does, I don’t want that person… I don’t want it to take six months. I want them to feel good after talking to Football Manitoba.”
A separate letter sent to the Thunder from Football Manitoba dated Nov. 29 stated a panel was formed to deal with the complaints. The panel acknowledged “verbal harassment did occur”, but the two teams were at odds over “the actual words spoken by the individuals involved.”
“It is clear that these words were not welcomed or well-received in the context of game day events, and ultimately should be viewed as inflammatory,” the panel stated.
Football Manitoba has created a committee to review and update its current code of conduct so it is more inclusive of various forms of harassment.
“I expect these changes will be ready to be implemented before the start of the upcoming season,” Lesperance wrote in the March 10 letter. “I sincerely hope you will continue to play and enjoy the game of football and wish you much success in the upcoming season.”
The RCMP said it's still investigating a complaint it received from the same incident, but wasn’t able to provide any specific details.
University of Winnipeg Professor Emerita Sandra Kirby has done extensive research on abuse in sports. She said it’s important for sports organizations learn from incidents like this, so they can handle them better in the future.
“It’s about paying attention to what didn’t work on this harassment issue and getting their ducks all in a line so that the next time a complaint comes forward, they’re educated, prepared, they have an advocate ready to go, they can support the athletes, they can support whoever’s on the other side of those athletes,” Kirby said. “There’s a due process.”
She added it's important organizations deal with harassment complaints in a timely manner.
“One of the key issues in harassment is information gathering and doing it immediately, sensitively and getting it on paper from both sides,” Kirby explained. “So you get their stories and write it down and sign off on it.”
McDonald said she’s eager to put the incident behind her and focus on the upcoming season.
