A Rink Full of Tyrants Is the NAHL's silence is an endorsement of abuse?

The story unfolding in the North American Hockey League with the Chippewa Steel's new coach, Rick Ferroni, is not just another example of "old-school" coaching. It is a case study in the active and willful enabling of abuse by the leagues that are supposed to be protecting players. The allegations are specific and grotesque: a culture of intimidation, screaming at players to "brawl," and the targeted, personal bullying of athletes, including the alleged use of the cruel nickname "make-a-wish." This is not a gray area. It is the textbook definition of "Emotional Misconduct" and "Bullying" as explicitly prohibited by USA Hockey and the U.S. Center for SafeSport. It is a clear-cut, indefensible violation of the policies supposedly governing the sport. And it is the exact kind of behavior that, when left unchecked, has led to tragedy.

We are not being hyperbolic. We have seen the endgame of this culture. On May 29, 2018, University of Maryland lineman Jordan McNair died of heatstroke after being forced through grueling sprints while his body temperature soared to 106 degrees. He was 19. The subsequent investigation uncovered an "environment based upon fear and intimidation," where "extreme verbal abuse" was common and players were "belittled, humiliated and harassing." The connection is undeniable. A coach who calls a player "make-a-wish" is fostering the same culture of fear as the staff that watched McNair collapse. It creates an environment where a young athlete is more afraid of his coach than he is for his own life. This is the logical, and sometimes fatal, conclusion of "tough guy" coaching. It is not a slippery slope; it is a straight line from verbal abuse to physical endangerment, and it is a line that hockey has willfully ignored for decades.

This is not a problem of a few "bad apples." This is a systemic rot. The playbook is the same across all of sports. In the NCDC, Rock Springs head coach Darren Naylor is finally "OUT" for his behavior, but only after a long history of red flags. At Wagner College, the head basketball coach was just suspended for allegedly mistreating players who sought medical attention, calling them "p---y" and "losers"—the same toxic language, different sport. This isn't just about on-ice tyrants, either. The entire culture of junior hockey seems to be a "Wild West" of deregulation and exploitation. Look at the GM in Rock Springs, Marty Quarters, who was fired over similar serious allegations. When you combine financial malfeasance with a total lack of accountability for emotional and verbal abuse, you paint a picture of a system that is not just broken, but corrupt. It is a system that views players not as young men to be developed, but as assets to be exploited and discarded.

But here is the real story. Here is the part that should make every hockey parent, player, and official sick with rage. After all this, after the allegations in Chippewa, after the death of Jordan McNair, after the firing of Naylor and the suspension of the Wagner coach... Rick Ferroni was on the bench for the Steel's two home wins over Janesville this past week. The league knew. The organization knew. And they did nothing. Naylor is out. Quarters is fired. But in the NAHL, this behavior apparently warrants... a continued place of honor behind the bench. There is no other way to interpret this. The NAHL, by its silence and inaction, has given a full-throated endorsement of this behavior. It has told every player in its league that their safety does not matter, that SafeSport is a sham, and that the "make-a-wish" nickname is perfectly acceptable. I guess that lets us all know, in no uncertain terms, exactly how much the NAHL cares about its players.