{"id":43553,"date":"2025-08-04T02:12:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T02:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/43553\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T02:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T02:12:07","slug":"canadian-hockey-brand-pulls-product-line-that-faced-criticism-for-demeaning-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/43553\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian hockey brand pulls product line that faced criticism for demeaning women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

HockeyBenders, a company that has become popular in Canadian rinks and has a large following of kids and teenagers online, sold $35 T-shirts with the slogan ‘Barduzz, Gettin Huzz.’Supplied<\/p>\n

A Canadian hockey<\/a> brand has pulled controversial clothing from its online store after a line of T-shirts and hoodies it sold was criticized for demeaning women and girls as sex objects.<\/p>\n

HockeyBenders, a company that has become popular in rinks across the country and boasts a large following of kids and teenagers online, sold $35 T-shirts with the slogan \u201cBarduzz, Gettin Huzz,\u201d which it has pulled.<\/p>\n

Loosely translated from locker-room slang, it means, \u201cScoring goals, getting hoes.\u201d A hoodie version, available in children\u2019s sizes, was also taken down after a Globe and Mail article that examined misogynistic attitudes within the game<\/a>, particularly at the teenage levels.<\/p>\n

The company, which tours arenas and shopping malls around Canada, attracting crowds of cheering kids and interviewing groups of teens in clips posted to the internet, came under fire for slogans on its clothing and in marketing videos.<\/p>\n

Katherine Henderson, the CEO of Hockey Canada, recently called the shirts \u201cdisgusting,\u201d while Andrea DeKeseredy, a former sexual-assault counsellor who studies gender violence, said the slogans point to a broader problem of misogynistic attitudes in minor hockey that are not being questioned.<\/p>\n

HockeyBenders founder Cole Lequier, 25, could not be reached for comment about the company\u2019s decision to drop the products from its website.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The company sells a variety of clothing with hockey-related slogans on their website.Supplied<\/p>\n

Ms. DeKeseredy called the removal of the clothing from the HockeyBenders retail website a start to addressing what she sees as a bigger problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think taking the shirt down is a great first step, and I give them credit for doing so. I am hopeful this is due to some deep reflection on the influence they have over children as opposed to a decision made solely to protect their business interests, especially in relation to the large retail stores across Canada that carry their clothing,\u201d Ms. DeKeseredy said.<\/p>\n

She is alarmed that a brand producing T-shirts and videos with messages that degrade women grew popular at the same time the Hockey Canada scandal and its allegations of group sexual assault by former world junior players loomed over the game.<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago, five players \u2212 Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dub\u00e9 and Cal Foote \u2212 were found not guilty of sexual assault<\/a>. Mr. McLeod was also found not guilty of a second charge of being party to sexual assault. <\/p>\n

The National Hockey League<\/a> called the behaviour of the players \u201cunacceptable,\u201d despite the judge\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many Canadians, regardless of the outcome of the trial, this has become an opportunity to think about the ways hockey culture shapes the kids who play it,\u201d Ms. DeKeseredy said. \u201cThat extends to HockeyBenders who have a huge platform that could be used to help create some positive changes as we move forward. I hope they continue to sincerely listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Henderson, named Hockey Canada CEO in 2023, wants to confront such attitudes in the game.<\/p>\n

Cathal Kelly: NHL delivers a lesson after the Hockey Canada verdict: Be nice, or else<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Hockey Canada continues our efforts to address issues in hockey culture, any merchandise targeted towards young hockey participants that promotes negative messages about girls and women reminds us that we all still have significant work ahead of us,\u201d Ms. Henderson said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Lequier started the business from his parents\u2019 home in Barrie, Ont., trademarking it in 2023. In a recent Instagram post, he said the company has sold more than 100,000 hoodies (including versions with innocuous slogans that don\u2019t mention women). The brand is in 150 retail stores and has more than two million followers on social media.<\/p>\n

HockeyBenders responded to previous inquiries from The Globe with an unsigned e-mail that said the men behind the company believe the humour is all in good fun: \u201cThe boys are two hardworking young hockey entrepreneurs and make videos for people to enjoy and laugh that\u2019s it. And like to keep everything they do positive. They like to stay in their own lane with their fans and followers!\u201d the e-mail said, verbatim. <\/p>\n

On Instagram, Mr. Lequier described the void he believes HockeyBenders fills in the game. <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like, growing up, there wasn\u2019t many hockey clothing brands that had relatable slogans and sayings for hockey players,\u201d Mr. Lequier said. \u201cSo, I saw a huge, huge gap in the market.\u201d <\/p>\n

HockeyBenders regularly interviews teen hockey players in rink lobbies about the game, and often about women, and posts those clips to TikTok and other online platforms, which drive popularity and profit for the brand. They are asked their preferences in girls, and \u201chow many blondes\u201d and \u201chow many puck bunnies\u201d they connect with on social media.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know about the Hockey Canada sexual-assault trial<\/a><\/p>\n

In one video, a player claiming 100 such girls was dubbed \u201clover boy.\u201d Another player, with just a few, was praised as a \u201cquality over quantity guy.\u201d Mr. Lequier did not respond to questions about whether HockeyBenders obtains parental consent before interviewing young players and posting clips online.<\/p>\n

The criticism of the HockeyBenders clothing and videos echoes a similar controversy in the early 2000s, when a website known as the Junior Hockey Bible, laced with misogynistic language, went viral in Canada. It offered a lengthy glossary of hockey terms for women, calling them \u201cswamp donkeys\u201d and \u201cpuck sluts.\u201d<\/p>\n

It advocated team group sex and players letting their teammates watch, adding, \u201cMany true team players will let their girlfriends be watched.\u201d<\/p>\n

The site, which was a marketing venture designed to promote a hockey clothing brand known as Gongshow Gear, gave tips on \u201ctag-teaming your local puck bunny\u201d and advice for those girls: \u201cYou have a job to do in the bedroom, concentrate your efforts on that role.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Gongshow\u2019s founders were confronted about the site in 2004, they took it down and issued a public apology. The Junior Hockey Bible has since been scrubbed from the internet. Reached by The Globe recently, Gongshow Gear declined to comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: HockeyBenders, a company that has become popular in Canadian rinks and has a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-43553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}