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![\"Canada\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3986050_web1_CP175802562.jpg\")
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Canada\u2019s Marc Kennedy delivers the stone during a men\u2019s curling round robin match against China at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy, on Sunday. (David J. Phillip \/ The Associated Press)<\/p>\n
What in the name of Vic Rauter is going on up there? The bizarre conflict has become the talk of the Olympics, putting curling under a blazing global spotlight.<\/p>\n
Tensions first flared Friday when Sweden\u2019s Oskar Eriksson accused Marc Kennedy, third for Brad Jacobs\u2019s team, of touching his stone a second time after release \u2014 a strict no-no in the roaring game.<\/p>\n
Kennedy erupted at the accusation in a colourful exchange that quickly went viral. You may want to hide the children.<\/p>\n
Eriksson: \u201cYou\u2019re touching the rock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy: \u201cWho is doing it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eriksson: \u201cIt has been a couple.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy: \u201cI haven\u2019t done it once. You can f\u2014k off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, that escalated quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like being accused of cheating after 25 years on tour and four Olympic Games,\u201d Kennedy told reporters. \u201cHe\u2019s still accusing us of cheating, and I didn\u2019t like it. So I told him where to stick it, because we\u2019re the wrong team to do that to. So I don\u2019t care. He might have been upset that he was losing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sweden claimed to have video evidence of the alleged misconduct, apparently the result of their own television broadcaster coincidentally \u2014 or was it deliberately? \u2014 setting up a camera at the perfect angle which, in fact, showed what appears to be a double touch by Kennedy.<\/p>\n
Canada claimed the fix was in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve come up with a plan to catch teams in the act,\u201d Kennedy said, while acknowledging he \u201cprobably could have handled it better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I apologize at all, it\u2019s to the young curler around the country that would have expected more for me in that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy was issued a verbal warning by World Curling to keep his emotions in check \u2014 or else.<\/p>\n
\u201cImproper conduct, foul or offensive language, equipment abuse, or wilful damage on the part of any team member is prohibited,\u201d said the governing body. \u201cAny violation may result in suspension of the offending person(s) by the curling organization having jurisdiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tension spilled over into Saturday, this time with Switzerland accusing Canada of the very same thing. The only difference? No naughty words were exchanged, but the Jacobs team did suffer its first loss of the Olympics in the process.<\/p>\n
All of this led to World Curling abruptly stepping up enforcement of the hack and the hog line, something which typically isn\u2019t done, in the form of two umpires who would roam between the four matches going on at a time.<\/p>\n
And, just a few hours later, they had their first alleged scofflaw \u2014 Canadian Rachel Homan.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike, absolutely not. Zero per cent chance,\u201d the world\u2019s No. 1 ranked skip pleaded to no avail. \u201cI\u2019ve never done that in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, video of the match seemed to suggest a second grazing touch and her rock was removed in a game against Switzerland, which Homan\u2019s crew ultimately lost to fall to 1-3 and on the brink of elimination.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating, the officials getting into the game that they have no business getting into,\u201d she later told broadcaster CBC, suggesting the cloud over the Canadian men had now made its way to her crew.<\/p>\n
With this sudden scandal making headlines around the world, curling\u2019s governing body tried to bring the temperature down a few degrees by issuing a statement reminding everyone of rule R5(d).<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is not allowed. This will result in the stone being removed from play. The curling stone must be delivered using the handle of the stone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like so much these days, people quickly picked sides as the debate raged on. Many with a stake in the matter have suggested it\u2019s all been blown out of proportion \u2014 a molehill turned into a mountain, so to speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me take a moment to set the record straight. Marc Kennedy is hands down one of the most honest and fair teammates I\u2019ve ever played with. Fierce competitor? Absolutely. Cheater? Not a chance,\u201d retired Canadian curler John Morris, a two-time Olympic gold medalist (in 2010 as a member of Kevin Martin\u2019s rink with Kenny, and again in 2018) wrote on X.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is, no curling official at these Olympics has ever been asked to make this call in a competition before, and expecting them to do so under such intense pressure is a tough ask \u2014 especially when the outcome of the shot is almost certainly unaffected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morris said there\u2019s nothing nefarious about a double-touch and it is likely something \u201cincredibly subtle and likely something he\u2019s been doing for years without even realizing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The story took another twist Sunday evening, when the federation announced it was removing the umpires just 24 hours after they were deployed. The caveat? Teams can still request their presence. The federation cited a meeting with all competing National Olympic Committees to update their existing policy.<\/p>\n
All of this has fuelled an \u201cus against the world\u201d mindset among Canadian curlers, who were already struggling at these Olympics.<\/p>\n
The mixed doubles team of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, who arrived in Italy as legitimate medal favourites, crashed out before the playoff round. Homan\u2019s team, ranked No. 1 in the world, has now dropped three straight games and has little margin for error if they hope to reach the podium.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Jacobs\u2019 team, now carrying the weight of this controversy, may be Canada\u2019s only hope with a 4-1 record so far.<\/p>\n One potential solution is video review, as used in nearly every other sport, to remove doubt or confusion. But curlers remain divided on the issue, with many preferring to preserve the self-policing element that has long defined their sport\u2019s good sportsmanship.<\/p>\n Well\u2026 until now, anyway.<\/p>\n Just like in hockey, curlers might want to keep their heads on a swivel. It\u2019s starting to get a little rough out there.<\/p>\n www.winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
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