Last April a 24 years old woman filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada alleging that she was assaulted by eight players of the World Junior team in a hotel room in London, Ontario, back in the summer of 2018.

The alleged assault took place following a Hockey Canada Foundation fundraising event while she was intoxicated. She was later pressured not to report the incident to the police.

In June, a parliamentary committee, troubled by how the federal funds may have been used to settle the lawsuit, launched a series of high-profile hearings into the organization and its leadership. That parliamentary probe has since raised more questions about how Hockey Canada dealt with the 2018 case and past sexual misconduct allegations. It was revealed that the organization had used the National Equity Fund which is made of membership fees paid by young players across the country had been used to settle past sexual assault claims.

Hockey Canada has announced its entire board of directors and its CEO will step aside as the organization confronts widespread criticism over how it handled the alleged group sexual assault. A virtual election is scheduled for December 17 and Hockey Canada has confirmed the current board will not seek reelection.

“Their resignation and the one of the CEO is a step forward to restore Canadian trust in the organization,” said the federal Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge “Hockey Canada must develop not only exceptional athletes but also good citizens who respect women, the public and the law.”

Due to the recent event, major sponsors such as Nike, Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire, Esso, and Telus responded by cutting ties with Hockey Canada permanently or by withdrawing their funding for men’s hockey this season.