2024-02-13 00:30:00
A young autistic man who played for ten years in standard hockey teams had to leave his recreational league because of the discriminatory attitude of his coaches, his family denounces.
“He has the right to play hockey […] For him, during this little 60 minutes [de jeu]he was not autistic, he was normal,” says Paride Casale, the young man’s father.
Dante Casale, 18, is passionate regarding hockey. He has been playing since he was 8 years old, on various teams led by different coaches.
In January, he played his last match with the Midget B team of the Monteuil Laval Association, following being indirectly defeated by his coaches.
Like his entire family, Dante considers that he was the victim of “unfair” treatment because he has autism spectrum disorder.
“He doesn’t have the best shot, but damnat least he is able to shoot on goal,” exclaims his brother, Noah Casale, who played on the same team before leaving in solidarity.
Midget B
Smiling and voluntary, Dante respects the rules, but sometimes has difficulty understanding them. This had never been a problem in the past, assures his family.
At the start of the season, he joined a junior level team, which brings together players aged 18 to 21. For his safety, the league offered to lower him to the Midget B level team, which brings together young people aged 15 to 17, of which his brother Noah was a part.
This is where the tensions started. However, this was the level in which he was already playing last year, when Mr. Casale was the coach.
Dante Casale with his mother, Sylvie Millette, his father, Paride Casale, and his brother Noah Casale. Photo Dominique Scali
From the start, his two new coaches and certain parents stood up to the idea of welcoming a player with limitations.
“Their idea was already made up,” says Sylvie Millette, Dante’s mother.
“Really bad”
“I told them: ‘You will live with it,’” says Claudio Quaglieri, president of the Monteuil Laval Association. But quickly, this decision earned him a wave of criticism.
“It was endless emails. We were called all kinds of names. It was really nasty,” summarizes Mr. Quaglieri.
Compromises were found: Dante would no longer participate in tournaments or training. Additionally, during regular games, he was only sent to the ice for a few seconds per period.
As Dante needs help tying his skates, his father or one of his brothers used to assist him in the locker room, which would have embarrassed the other players, according to Hockey Laval.
But, according to Noah, it would be a pretext invoked by the adults to better exclude his brother. “I asked them [à mes coéquipiers] and they all said, “You hardly notice when your dad is here.”
Intimidation?
The tension rose a notch during a match that Dante spent the entirety of on the bench. Shocked by such a decision, Mr. Casale asked one of the coaches where he worked, which was interpreted as intimidation.
“That was never my intention,” Mr. Casale apologizes. “My goal was to understand how someone educated like him [pouvait agir comme ça].»
Both coaches therefore resigned just before Christmas. At such a late point in the season, it was no longer possible to find other certified coaches to replace them, Mr. Quaglieri explains.
Dante’s parents decided to remove him from the team so as not to punish the other players, who had nothing to do with it and who had welcomed the young man.
“The coaches and the association did not ‘tamp down’ Dante,” indicates Martine Deschamps, general director of Hockey Laval, by email. They would have rather expressed their concerns regarding his safety, she adds.
The growth of adapted leagues does not solve everything
The proliferation of adapted sports leagues should not serve as an excuse to exclude young people who are different in the name of the “madness” of victory, speakers remind.
“I would like it to go back to the way it was before [dans l’équipe de l’an dernier]», admits Dante Casale.
For the past few weeks, he has been part of a hockey league adapted for young people with autism, an option that is growing throughout Quebec.
“It’s managed by extraordinary people,” emphasizes his father, Paride Casale.
But for Dante, adapted hockey doesn’t make him feel like he’s playing real games or feeling “normal” once in a while, as was the case on standard teams.
Not an isolated case
His case is not isolated, although there are no statistics on the subject, notes Lili Plourde, general director of the Quebec Autism Federation.
“This is not the first time I have heard that due to a change of person or manager, a young person will lose their place in an unsuitable team,” she says.
Lili Plourde, general director of the Quebec Autism Federation. Courtesy (Jade FE / Quebec Autism Federation
“Many young people are completely at home on regular teams, but they are often victims of intimidation from others, and also from coaches,” adds Ms. Plourde.
However, Hockey Quebec’s Code of Ethics stipulates that the coach must “ensure that everyone is treated equally”, regardless of their “age”, “athletic potential” or “handicap”.
It is not always easy for volunteer coaches who do not have training to integrate players who have limitations, admits Jocelyn Thibault, general director of Hockey Quebec.
Two visions
But very often, two visions clash: those who want to include all young people so that they can develop and those who want to win at all costs.
“Often, people see it more as competitive than recreational,” notes Mr. Thibault.
This is also the explanation put forward by Noah Casale, Dante’s brother. “What the coaches wanted was to win.”
“The parents are crazy!” exclaims Sylvie Millette, Dante’s mother, who is surprised that adults have more difficulty accepting a young person who is different from children.
“All I want is for these coaches to no longer be able to coach and for the sports associations to take their responsibilities,” concludes Paride Casale. The Monteuil Laval Association also indicates that it does not intend to use the services of the same coaches next year.
But for Hockey Laval, “this case has no link with discrimination based on disability,” indicates general director Martine Deschamps.
The Casale family is considering contacting the Commission on Human Rights and Youth Rights.
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