Investigation into Allegations Against WHL, Team Canada Coach Now Closed
PUBLICATION
TJ Tucker
August 6, 2023 (5:17 PM)
Just a day after it was revealed that the Western Hockey League and US Center for SafeSport were conducting an investigation into allegations made against one of their coaches, there's word the case has been closed.
Dennis Williams, of Ontario, is the Head Coach and GM of the WHL's Everett Silvertips. He also served as Assistant Coach (2022) and Head Coach (2023) of Canada's World Junior Hockey team. A report from TSN this weekend stated Williams was under investigation by the US Center for SafeSport following allegations by an unnamed complainant. The complainant said several players were concerned with Williams for using the players' showers and coming out only wearing a towel on multiple occasions. It also alleged that Williams "walked into the bathroom while [a] player was losing consciousness following VO2 max testing. Dennis took a photo of the player on his phone while the player was on the bathroom floor and walked out, leaving the player unconscious on the bathroom floor. The player was 17 at the time." Today, the WHL said the investigation has concluded and no evidence of wrongdoing has been found.
"This week, the WHL completed a series of investigations in response to allegations made by former Everett Silvertips equipment manager Damon Pugerude. Conducted by Kevan Stuart, WHL Head of Security, these investigations found no evidence to support any of the allegations made by Mr. Pugerude. The investigations also concluded that Mr. Williams did not violate WHL conduct policies.
Further to this, on the evening of Friday, August 4, USA Hockey's General Counsel informed the WHL that the US Center for SafeSport completed its own independent inquiry into the reported allegations concerning Mr. Williams. Based on the evidence and information currently available, the US Centre for SafeSport has closed the matter after reaching a similar conclusion to the investigations conducted by the WHL."
The league went on to say that the Silvertips, Williams and the WHL cooperated fully with all aspects of the investigation.
Source: CHL.ca/WHL
POLL |
AOUT 6 | 38 ANSWERS Investigation into Allegations Against WHL, Team Canada Coach Now Closed Are you satisfied with the results of the investigation? |
Yes | 17 | 44.7 % |
No | 15 | 39.5 % |
Not sure | 6 | 15.8 % |
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