The Edmonton Wildcats are tackling sexist behaviour on and off the football field as part of an ongoing training program.
Eighty Wildcat junior football players and staff took part in special training sessions called Learning Change during the 2017 season.
The classes, run by the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS), taught players about healthy masculinity, sexual harassment, domestic violence, consent and other topics.
On Sunday, ACWS released statistics based on what the Wildcats participants learned from the crash course in gender-based equity.
After the 2017 training program, 67 per cent of the participants said they were more likely to interrupt sexist behaviour in the locker room.
Defensive back Jayden Dalke, 22, was one of the players who took the course. At the Wildcats clubhouse in Rundle Park on Sunday, Dalke said the sessions made him more aware of what women face on a daily basis.
“We talked about what males have to do to avoid sexual harassment on a daily basis. It’s nothing or very minimal. And then we discussed as players what women have to go through to avoid it, and it’s shocking and disappointing,” he said.
“Everyone wants to be part of a solution after that.”
The 2017 training session was the fourth workshop — run from June to September — that the football team took part in.
‘Big, big changes’
Many of the players share what they learned in the course with others in the city, like high school football teams which many of them coach, said 20-year-old Wildcats player Zachary Chomchuk.
About 67 per cent of Edmonton Wildcats who participated in the Leading Change course said they were more likely to interrupt sexist behaviour in the locker room. (Stephanie Dubois/CBC)
About 71 per cent of the men involved said they reported fewer sexist comments in the locker room after the training.
That’s a huge win for the community that often idolizes these athletes, said Leading Change instructor Tuval Dinner Nafshi.
“If we can engage athletes and people involved with sports in this kind of positive change, and seeing their opportunity and their role, we think there is a huge opportunity to make big, big changes,” he said.
Jan Reimer, ACWS executive director, said the course results are a positive sign heading into the Grey Cup in Edmonton this October that “sports teams and sports fans take on the mantle of leadership to create the safest Grey Cup possible.”
She added that discussions are underway with other sports organizations like Hockey Alberta.