IOC to investigate Canadian women's hockey team

IOC to investigate Canadian women's hockey team for celebration

By Chris Chase

The International Olympic Committee will investigate the actions of Canadian women's hockey players who celebrated their gold medal victory Thursday night by swigging beer and smoking cigars on the ice in Vancouver.

A number of players, including 18-year-old superstar Marie-Philip Poulin, were drinking alcohol on the ice following the team's 2-0 defeat of the United States. (The legal drinking age in British Columbia is 19.) Players lingered for more than 70 minutes after the awards ceremony reveling in the arena, which was empty except for media and arena staff. (Click here to view a slideshow of the celebration.)

Gilbert Felli, the IOC's executive director of the Olympic Games, said that drinking in public was "not what we want to see" from athletes at an Olympic venue. The organization will investigate the actions and will speak with the international hockey federation and Canadian Olympic Committee and ask them to "act accordingly."

Steve Keough, a spokesman for the Canadian Olympic Committee, told the Associated Press, “We condone celebrations. … We don’t condone actions of irresponsibility. I think Canadians understand it’s quite an emotional moment for our team. It was not our intention to go against any IOC protocols.”

To be sure, the Canadian women's hockey team should have acted with more class and been a little more discreet with its celebration. But to do something drastic like ban the team from the Closing Ceremony or force them out of the Olympic Village would be an overreaction. In past Olympics we've seen steroids, political boycotts, cheating and judging scandals. A few puffs of a cigar hardly seems to be in the same league.

The Canadian women's hockey team gets criticized when it wins and now it might catch some heat for its victory celebration.

    "Players came back onto the ice more than half an hour after the 2-0 victory over the United States. Still in their uniforms and with gold medals draped around their necks, they swigged from bottles of champagne and cans of beer and smoked cigars.

    "Gilbert Felli, the IOC's executive director of the Olympic Games, says he was unaware of the incidents until informed by an Associated Press reporter.

    "He says drinking in public by athletes at an Olympic venue is 'not what we want to see' and not a good image for sports values."

Given the situation with Scotty Lago getting sent home from the Games for some party pics, it's probably a good idea not to be flippant. It's better to see how this is handled. The IOC is all-powerful in these matters.

The team's celebration was not out of the ordinary for a hockey team that just won a championship.

It's a fairly common ritual in hockey to go back on the ice, after fans have filed out of the arena, take a seat at center ice and drink in the moment with perhaps beer and champagne. For the most part, it's condoned as all part of cutting loose after all the self-sacrifice that goes into winning a championship whether it is boys being boys, or girls being girls. Still, this is the IOC.