Gary Bettman says NHL will create hotline for reporting inappropriate conduct

The past few weeks may mark what has been the beginning of a shift in hockey’s culture.

According to commissioner Gary Bettman, the NHL wants to be a part of it.

Bettman said the league will be creating a hotline for players or NHL team personnel to report inappropriate conduct anonymously, per TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

“I can guarantee we will take them seriously,” Bettman said following Day 1 of the Board of Governors meetings in California, according to Seravalli.

Setting up a safe and easy way for incidents to be reported is just one of the steps that the league hopes to execute to “expedite a change in culture and make clear the expectations we have for the conduct of coaches and other personnel,” Bettman said.

In addition, inappropriate conduct will be disciplined by the team, league or both moving forward and a new mandatory annual training program on diversity and inclusion will be designed by an outside company for all “head coaches, assistant coaches, minor league coaches, general managers and assistant general managers,” according to Seravalli.

According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Bill Daly — the deputy commissioner of the NHL — said the league’s Players’ Association has communicated a desire to be involved with the formation of the program.

A league Code of Conduct has been atop the agenda for the NHL following a wave of negative press that has washed over the sport lately. Beginning with the story of former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock’s list incident surfacing at the end of November to Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters resigning amid allegations of racism while in the AHL, it’s been a revealing few weeks for the NHL.

Akim Aliu — who was the victim of Peters’ remarks while the two were together with the Rockford Icedogs and has met with the NHL since coming forward — reacted to Bettman’s statement shortly after it was presented.

“I am encouraged the commissioner embraced many of the changes we proposed at the meeting,” Aliu tweeted on Monday night. “Now the hard work begins of focusing on specifics and implementing policy that will make this sport more diverse, safer, and accountable. We have to ensure that future generations of hockey players do not face the barriers and racism I have throughout my career. Together we can do something truly great and transformative for hockey.”

While the sentiments expressed by Bettman and the league are positive, Aliu is right. True change can only occur when their talk becomes action. We’ll sit and wait to see what comes of all of this chatter in due time.

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