WHL investigating former player's sexual, physical abuse complaint

Warning: Story contains graphic content

A former Western Hockey League player has filed a complaint with the league regarding sexual and physical abuse he said he experienced during his junior career, according to TSN's Rick Westhead.

The former player emailed the league on Saturday, requesting anonymity. This includes his name, the teams he played for, and the years he played in the WHL.

"The WHL takes matters such as this very seriously and we have indicated to (the complainant) we will be in contact with him immediately to begin our investigation," WHL spokesperson Taylor Rocca said, according to Westhead.

The player said that during one incident, two teammates attacked him on a road trip.

"The abuse occurred while I was unfolding the rookie cot," he wrote. "I was attacked and pinned down face first by the two assailants, my hands at my side, with one assailant kneeling on each of my shoulders with his crotch against the back of my head and the second assailant sitting on my upper back. I was pinned helpless and unable to move; my face was pushed into the mattress. The only way to breathe was to move my head from side to side to get a gasp of air. The first assailant sitting on my shoulders removed his penis from his pants and proceeded to slap his penis off the side of my face when I attempted to get air while both assailants laughed saying, 'Not so tough now, hey rookie.'"

He said that on another occasion, the same two teammates forced several rookies to strip naked in the dressing room and play tug-of-war with a string tied to their genitals.

The former player detailed multiple other incidents in the complaint. He named the alleged assailants, several of whom currently have prominent roles in the hockey industry.

He said the abuse transformed him from a "driven, happy, engaged young man and a solid NHL hockey prospect into a black mass of anger, untrust of people, self-isolation, and alcohol abuse."

Former CHL players Dan Carcillo and Garrett Taylor filed last week a class-action lawsuit against the league over alleged abuse. Days earlier, police began an investigation after a former Kitchener Rangers player said a teammate forced him to try cocaine as a rookie.