The removal of a parent from Saint-Jérôme minor hockey, announced last week, has sparked a stir at Hockey Quebec, which has identified several irregularities and says it is unable to carry out certain checks.
“A parent with a severe disciplinary history removed from minor hockey at Saint-Jérôme,” Radio-Canada reported last week.
We learned the parent, who was the subject of this extremely rare six-year trial, had “repeatedly used abusive and abusive language towards referees, volunteers and players and parents”.
That parent is Caroline Byrne. Mother of teenager who plays for the Saint-Jérôme Lions says she’s the victim of an injustice.
The Journal has learned that Hockey Quebec is less than convinced that the Saint-Jérôme Federation of Minor Hockey Clubs’ (FHMSJ) decision respects its regulations.
“As we receive information, we have questions,” said Dave Leclerc, director of Hockey Quebec.
“That’s why we asked to be given the file [disciplinaire du parent]but we were denied entry,” he reveals, which he says is abnormal.
However, the FHMSJ is accountable to Hockey Quebec. “Associations cannot decide what they want,” says Leclerc.
A dubious summons
Hockey Quebec is as concerned about the process of Mrs. Byrne’s call-up to the FHMSJ as it is about the validity of the radiation.
The Journal had access to an audio recording of Ms Byrne’s subpoena by the FHMSJ, which took place on February 15. Despite her request, Ms Byrne was never able to present her version of the facts.
“It is certain that it does not respect what is to be done under our disciplinary measures,” Dave Leclerc reacted.
access to arenas
The subsequent decision states that Ms Byrne “can no longer have access to arenas on FHMSJ territory”. For Dave Leclerc, that restriction could only come through a court order.
Martin Labrosse, president of the FHMSJ, believes that Hockey Quebec is “interfering” with its organization and only agrees to show them the disciplinary file at a face-to-face meeting.
“I don’t want to send him like that. I don’t know what their goal is. “He is vehemently defending the decision to write off Ms Byrne.” “We are volunteers, we are not legal or hearings specialists. If we made a mistake somewhere, no problem, but the decision would have been the same. »
The exiled mother wants to appeal
The mother of a young Saint-Jérôme hockey player who was banned from her city’s arenas plans to appeal the decision at Hockey Quebec, believing she is the victim of an “injustice” and a degenerate conflict.
“Right now I have no idea why I was unsubscribed,” summarizes Caroline Byrne. There’s an injustice, it’s safe and it’s safe. »
According to his version of the facts, it all goes back to an event that happened during a tournament in Plessisville in early February.
In the dressing room, his 13-year-old son would have been insulted by his coach in front of his teammates. ‘ said my youngest [dans le vestiaire] that his teammates didn’t mean shit. The trainer [n’a pas apprécié] and yelled at him like a lazy fish. He walked out of there crying. »
It ends up in the hotel
She would then have texted the coach to discuss the situation, but it wasn’t until later at the hotel where the team was meeting that he decided to bring it up with her, Mrs Byrne says.
“I asked him why he was yelling at my guy. He said to me: “I’m the coach, I do what I want”. »
The conflict would then have degenerated. The mother claims to have received death threats but admits to having used physical violence herself.
While acknowledging that she has been “imperfect” in the past and that she takes her share of responsibility for the altercation at the hotel, Ms Byrne believes the process of ditching her was far from fair.
The decision raises “several questions” in the eyes of Hockey Quebec.
Ms Byrne believes she was the victim of vengeance from Martin Labrosse, President of the FHMSJ, against whom she filed a complaint of intimidation last November.
Mr Labrosse had been acquitted of all charges against him.
The only one called?
Reached by Le Journal, Martin Labrosse refused to say whether other people had been summoned by his board to obtain testimony about what was happening at the hotel.
“We do not have it [Mme Byrne] not kicked out for what happened on February 3,” but for all his disciplinary records, he argued.
As for his history with Ms. Byrne, Mr. Labrosse says he “understands the disfellowshipped mother’s perception” of any semblance of revenge, but dismisses that claim.
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