For SA survivors, watching the Vegas Golden Knights advance to the Stanley Cup final has been heavy.
Today, we’re once again being reminded that even though public conversations move on, trauma often does not.
Last night, The Golden Knights defeated the Colorado Avalanche to complete a four-game sweep. Vegas will now advance to the third Stanley Cup Final in its nine-year history.
The team includes two players involved in the 2025 Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, which centered around a night in 2018 where one young woman went back to a London, Ontario hotel room with one hockey player (Michael McLeod) who then sent a group message to his teammates inviting them for a “3-way”.
Golden Knights Goalie Carter Hart and centre/winger Brett Howden were among around ten elite hockey players who received the text message and came to the hotel room. Hart was the only accused player who testified at trial, and centre/winger Brett Howden testified as a witness who was present. More details on their testimony below. All five accused were found not guilty by a judge.
As a survivor-led initiative, Beyond the Verdict wants survivors watching this unfold to know that your feelings are valid. Anger, sadness, confusion, grief, numbness, exhaustion - all of it. Many survivors are carrying the weight of this moment along with the weight of their own experiences, as most do any time that it seems like their own trauma is forgotten for someone else's glory.
We also want to acknowledge E.M., who has endured years of public scrutiny, doxxing, online harassment, victim-blaming, and hatred simply for coming forward and participating in the legal process. Regardless of where people stand on the verdict, no person should face the level of cruelty and dehumanization that has followed this case.
For years, survivors have been told that accusations "ruin lives and careers."
Yet here we are once again watching elite athletes continue competing at the highest levels of professional sport, celebrated on national television and cheered in packed arenas. This is a reality that exists alongside a complainant whose life was permanently altered by both the events themselves and the public aftermath that followed.
To every survivor struggling with the Vegas Golden Knights going to the Stanley Cup final: you are not alone and your worth is not determined by a crowd cheering in an arena.
- Beyond The Verdict: Jessica Baker and Kelly Favro with support from Kristi Lee
A reminder of Carter Hart and Brett Howden’s testimony:
Accused Carter Hart, who was found not guilty, was the only one of the five players who testified in his own defence.
Hart insisted he wanted to ensure everything was fully consensual.
Yet even in his own version of events, he took no actual steps to ensure consent — from his excitement about receiving a 2 a.m. text message invitation to have sex with a woman he didn’t know, to the red flags he ignored that she wasn’t consenting, to his decision to text another player to join without checking with her.
Hart insists he has learned and grown, but real change starts with acknowledging harm and taking accountability. He hasn’t ever done that.
Witness Brett Howden, who was subpoenaed by the crown prosecution, testified that he could no longer remember key details he previously provided in statements - like witnessing another player slapping E.M. on the buttocks “so hard”.
He also claimed he didn’t recall sending the following text message about it:
“Dude, I’m so happy I left when all the s--t went down. Haha. Man, when I was leaving, Duber was smacking this girl’s ass so hard. Like, it looked like it hurt so bad.” - Brett Howden, text message
The crown accused Howden of feigning memory loss to protect his teammates: while he was able to remember some details, he conveniently didn’t remember anything that could hurt his friends or teammates.
Consent isn’t a checklist!
A smile doesn’t prove it.
Neither does a “consent video”.
Real consent is unmistakable: enthusiastic, ongoing, specific, and freely given.
Consent to one act or person doesn’t cover another act or person: everyone needs their own clear, verbal, enthusiastic yes for every act.
“Are you sure you want this?”
“What about now?”
“Are you okay with someone else joining?”
Consent can be withdrawn at any time. There is no such thing as advance or retroactive consent.
Obvious red flags that indicate consent is not present:
hesitation
silence
stiffness
crying
nervous laughter, over-performing
signs of heavy drinking
When there is a clear power imbalance, the responsibility falls on those with power or status to make sure consent is real, ongoing, not coerced, and that the person feels free and safe to say no if they want to.