An independent appeals board has ruled that four Canadian ice hockey players acquitted of sexual assault should remain suspended from representing Canada at international level due to breaking Hockey Canada's code of conduct. The four players, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Carter Hart, will be eligible for reinstatement between 2027 and 2030, while the fifth player, Alex Formenton, is being reinstated immediately. The ruling comes after the players were acquitted in July 2025 of assaulting a woman in a hotel room in London, Ontario in 2018. According to the board's recommendation, all five players will have to wait for months or years before they can return to represent Canada internationally.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Four Canadian hockey players, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Michael McLeod, and Carter Hart, have been ordered to remain suspended from representing Canada internationally due to a breach of Hockey Canada's code of conduct. However, the suspension does not affect their eligibility to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). The players were acquitted of sexual assault charges related to an incident in 2018, but the independent appeals board found that they had still broken Hockey Canada's rules. Alex Formenton, who was also accused of breaking conduct rules, is being reinstated and will be allowed to play for Canada again. The ruling only affects their eligibility for international competitions sanctioned by Hockey Canada, not their participation in the NHL.
Written for “Sex Assault Case Controversy” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score -0.60 for article 748 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-08-27
- Published
Four ice hockey players who were acquitted of sexual assault last year should remain barred from representing Canada at international level because they broke Hockey Canada's code of conduct, an independent appeals board has ruled.
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board → publish → conduct
The board recommended that four of the five acquitted players remain suspended from all Hockey Canada-sanctioned programmes.
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four → recommend → programmes
The fifth player, Alex Formenton, was also deemed to have broken conduct rules but is now being reinstated.
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player → deem → rules
The former players for Canada's under-20s junior hockey team were accused of sexual assault over an incident that took place in 2018.
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that → accuse → 2018
They were found not guilty in July 2025.
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They → find → July
The ruling does not change the fact that all five players are eligible to play for teams that compete in the National Hockey League (NHL), which operates separately from Hockey Canada.
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which → change → Canada
All five were allowed by the NHL to sign contracts again for the league's teams late last year.
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five → allow → teams
The NHL operates under a separate authority to Hockey Canada and conducted its own investigation into the incident that was at the centre of the legal case.
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that → operate → case
While Formenton is eligible for immediate reinstatement by Hockey Canada, the others will have to wait for months or years before they can return to the ice at an international level.
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they → have → level
McLeod will have to wait until 10 November 2030.
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McLeod → have → November
Officials did not say why the reinstatement dates differed for each player.
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dates → say → player
The players had been accused of assaulting the woman, known as EM, in a hotel room in 2018 in London, Ontario, where they had been attending a gala.
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they → accuse → gala
They were acquitted in July 2025 when Justice Maria Carroccia said she did not find EM's evidence "credible or reliable".
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evidence → acquit → July
The court heard that the woman had met the players at a bar and later went back to the hotel room to have consensual sex with McLeod.
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woman → hear → McLeod
Other players then entered the room and engaged in further sexual acts with her.
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players → enter → her
The central issue of the trial was whether EM, who was 20 at the time of the incident, had consented to every sexual act in the hotel room that night.
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who → consent → room
Lawyers for the players contended that EM asked the men to have sex with her and they believed she gave consent.
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she → contend → consent
EM, however, testified that she was intoxicated and felt fearful of the men.
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she → testify → men
While she had initially agreed to have sex with McLeod, she testified that she did not agree to what unfolded afterwards.
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what → agree → McLeod
Despite the fact that the incident happened eight years ago, the case remains on the minds of many in Canada.
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case → happen → Canada
"This case started a national conversation about safe sport and the problematic culture in men's hockey," said Adam van Koeverden, Canada's current secretary of sport, in a statement after the Wednesday's ruling by the appeals board.
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Koeverden → start → board
"It is the voices of women and survivors, and the courage and bravery it takes to come forward, that have led to changes we are seeing in toxic culture."
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we → take → culture
Van Koeverden said there has been progress at Hockey Canada to "address long-standing systemic failures" and said that national sport organisations must be held accountable.
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organisations → say → failures
