WINNIPEG – They’re the stiffest penalties Hockey Winnipeg has ever given to parents, but the mom and dad involved in a locker room fight in Fargo, ND in February say they were only trying to protect their son.
The police incident report shows Christine and Drew Belandiuk were asked to leave the locker room after the mom reportedly barged in and confronted the coach. An argument followed and that’s when the dad says he intervened. Witnesses say punches were thrown but the dad says that’s not true.
“I pushed the coach with my hand because he used physical force on my wife. I’m not denying I didn’t do anything wrong, but media outlets and Hockey Winnipeg make it look like the Selkirk Coaches are angels.”
His son plays for the River East Royals (white) team. The opposing team was the Selkirk Steelers.
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Hockey Winnipeg says it interviewed several witnesses following the February 8th altercation, and that it has never heard of an altercation as bad as this. President Don Macintosh listed foul language, the ensueing fight, and the fact the mom and dad went into the opposing team’s “space” as some of the reasons why it has decided the pair should be banned from entering a rink where their son is playing for the next three years.
“It’s beyond the pale. Beyond. How would you explain that to an eight-year-old,” said Macintosh. “Dad , mom, why did that happen?”
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The parents say it happened because their son has an underlying medical condition and the mom was worried her son had been hurt by the opposing team.
They have appealed the decision with Hockey Manitoba and question the timing of Hockey Winnipeg speaking out on the incident.
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