Two former Vancouver Whitecaps players made an impassioned and gut-wrenching case for a national inquiry into toxic, and at times, abusive sports culture in Canada.
Ciara McCormack and Andrea Neil appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa on Monday alongside other top Canadian athletes, Olympic boxer Myriam Da Silva Rondeau and fencer Emily Mason.
“We’re so under-protected, underfunded, underrepresented, and yet the sport system does not happen without our participation. It’s the most insane setup,” said McCormack, who played for the Whitecaps in 2005, 2006 and 2011.
“I just feel ashamed, honestly, to be a Canadian … this is the response to so many of us coming forward for months now telling you that this is the reality behind the Olympic medals.”
McCormack, Neil, Da Silva and Mason told the committee members about the institutional roadblocks they faced when reporting misconduct and the need for better protection for athletes who raise concerns, including legislation protecting athletes who speak out.
Whistleblower McCormack told members she was forced to move to Ireland to escape the predation of former Whitecaps coach Bob Birarda, who is serving time behind bars for three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching involving three female players under 18.
“Sixteen years later, I live abroad, not feeling safe to stay in Canada professionally or personally because of the truth that I have shared,” she said, her voice wavering.
“Online, as I have watched these government hearings and seen countless athletes bravely retraumatize themselves telling their horrific stories, I can’t help but ask myself how many more stories will it take for those of you in government to demand a national inquiry and implement real change?”
McCormack, who now plays for Treaty United in Limerick, reported the abuse she suffered at Birarda’s hands, and while he was fired in 2008 for sexual misconduct against players on Canada’s under-20 women’s team, he continued coaching teenaged girls for another decade.
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Last summer, an independent review concluded that Canada Soccer “mishandled” sexual harassment allegations against Birarda, citing a “complete lack of familiarity” with the harassment policy among its senior officials in 2008. The port said a Canada Soccer Association press release further described his dismissal that year as being in the “mutual interest of both parties without so much as addressing the harassment.”
It was a “gross mischaracterization of the circumstances and failed the victims of the harassment, their teammates, and the organization as a whole,” the 125-page report concluded.
Neil, who played for the Whitecaps between 2001 and 2006, said Canada Soccer’s communication style is a well-oiled example of “how the old boys holding the purse strings of power operate to deny, deflect, and launch a media blitz of information designed to manipulate and defend.”
“They have promoted their own power, influence and wealth at the cost of the safety, health and the human dignity of those they are meant to serve,” she told the committee.
“This is not surprising as our leaders are so deeply embedded in FIFA, an organization renowned for its sexism and corruption, but with Canada about to play host to the World Cup, it behooves us to pay attention.”
Vancouver and Toronto have been named host cities for the men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup, and Neil noted that the last time Canada hosted the tournament, in 2015, the female competitors faced “inequitable and dangerous working conditions.” The athletes were initially expected to play on artificial turf at BC Place, for example, while the men’s competition is always held on grass.
Neil played in four World Cups and when inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, she had played for Canada 132 times — more than any other player, male or female.
She spoke about the exiling of athletes who advocate for their rights and challenge those in power. Like McCormack, she also spoke about years of pressuring those with decision-making authority to take action, without substantive change.
“The Heritage Committee threatened to pull funding on the Federation back in 2008. Please take the action that will institute real change. We need a national inquiry,” Neil said.
“This is a pivotal moment for Canadian athletes, to be sure, but we can meet it with the wisdom and the compassion that has been missing from this all.”
Neil, McCormack, Da Silva and Mason also called for the creation of funded associations charged with representing athlete interests, in addition to the inquiry into national sporting culture.
Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge has said she is committed to responding to the athletes’ concerns, but wants to determine how such an investigation would be organized.
“My goal is to have an environment that sport participants can testify and share their experiences and their recommendations,” she told reporters on Monday.
While Ottawa ponders, however, Mason said athletes continue to be put in harm’s way.
“With every passing day, there are more children who are placed into these environments — more children who are experiencing the same things that we have, and continue to every single day that a national inquiry is not called and we’re not taking action,” she said. “That is not acceptable.”
Mason is part of Fencing for Change Canada, a group that represents current and past Olympic and national fencers.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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