The investigation into a hazing incident has been reopened by the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, raising the possibility of further sanctions against the scandalized Neepawa Natives.
League commissioner Kim Davis says some players have changed their stories since the incident came to light.
"It's frustrating to say the least. We had an expectation of forthrightness from the individuals involved and it looks as though maybe we didn't get that," Davis said.
Four boys on the team were in late September subjected to a hazing ritual in which they were told to tie a string around their scrotum and pull a crate of water bottles around the dressing room. One of the boys, an unidentified 15-year-old, told a friend who then told the boy's father.
The league investigated and earlier this week fined the Natives $5,000. It also suspended 18 members including the head coach, an assistant coach, the team's captain and assistant captains.
But the league now wants to clarify whether assistant coach Brad Biggers was present during the hazing -- a point on which players' stories have changed.
"What the players indicated to a couple of the executive members of the hockey club yesterday was that in fact the assistant coach was present during some of the hazing activities, which was contrary to what the players provided to me when the investigation was done originally," said Davis.
Biggers resigned Thursday and was handed an indefinite suspension by the league Friday. The move prevents him from coaching in any Canadian league. Biggers was not immediately available to comment.
The league's new probe will involve an outside investigator, Davis said, and will get to the bottom of exactly what happened and who was involved. The RCMP has launched its own investigation.
The team was further scandalized by allegations that the boy who first described the hazing was forced to apologize to his teammates, and then suspended from the team.
"The coach said the only way he'd get the respect back from the players is if he apologized for the way he handled it," said the boy's father.
"How bad is that, making the victim apologize?"
The team will not comment on the father's version of the story, but admits the player was suspended.
Whether the apology was forced is another question for the second investigation.
"In the initial investigation, there was some conflicting evidence or testimony to that ... but we're expecting that an independent investigator with years of experience will be able to give us a more definitive answer," Davis said.
The boy has missed seven games so far. The Natives are planning to trade him to another team, which suits the boy's parents just fine.
With a report from CTV's Jill Macyshon
