Canadians hurl abuse at U.S. hockey peewees By INGRID PERITZ Wednesday, April 2, 2003 - Page A1 Toronto Globe and Mail
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030402/UMASSN//?query=Brockton MONTREAL -- A peewee hockey tournament in Montreal became a trip into hostile territory for a busload of Americans who say they encountered such fierce anti-Americanism that they will think twice before returning. During a four-day visit, boys travelling with their Massachusetts hockey team witnessed the burning of the Stars and Stripes and the booing of the U.S. national anthem. When travelling in their bus emblazoned with a red-white-and-blue "Coach USA" logo, they saw people on the street who extended their middle fingers or made other angry gestures. On the ice, the Canadian players told their visiting counterparts that "the U.S. sucks" and dispensed other anti-American insults, the Americans said. "It was a shock to go to a tournament and have kids saying this to us. These are our friends that are doing this," Brockton Boxers coach Ernest Nadeau said. "We didn't expect Canadian players -- especially young boys -- would take things to that extreme," he said in an interview. The 11- and 12-year-old boys from Brockton, 30 kilometres south of Boston, had been looking forward to the hockey tournament in Montreal. But parents who accompanied them said they were unprepared for the depth of anti-American sentiment over the U.S.-led war against Iraq. One parent, Bill Carpenter, was so upset he cancelled his family's vacation to Quebec this summer. "We were very offended by the whole thing," said Mr. Carpenter, who accompanied two sons on the trip. "I understand the opposition to the war. But we were made to feel unwelcome just about anywhere we went. "Montreal is a 5�-hour drive for us. It's not like we were travelling to Syria or France or Germany," he said. "As Americans, we felt in the past that Canada was our closest ally and friend. No one told us we were heading into unfriendly territory." The trip soured soon after the Americans rolled into Montreal on March 20. Their bus entered downtown Montreal just as hundreds of college and university students were marching through the streets in an antiwar demonstration. Police cruisers spotted the U.S. bus and escorted it to its hotel on Sherbrooke Street as a safety precaution. A police officer urged the visitors to remain in the bus until the protest passed. The children watched as several demonstrators made obscene gestures toward the bus. A U.S. flag was dragged through the street. "We felt horrible," Mr. Nadeau said. "How would you feel if the Canadian flag was dragged down the streets in the U.S.A.? This is a country that's supposed to be our ally." That night, about a dozen families went to the Montreal Canadiens-New York Islanders game at the Montreal Bell Centre, a much-anticipated visit planned months in advance. In a gesture later condemned, the U.S. national anthem was widely booed by the crowd, leaving the visiting American children perplexed. "The kids were just questioning, 'Why are they doing this?' " said David Cruise, who was there with his 12-year-old son. "It's hard for them to realize we weren't in America any more; we were in a different country. "I said, 'They're booing our national anthem because they don't like us.' " Mr. Cruise felt so uncomfortable that he left with his son after the first period. "Whether you're for or against the war, we have guys over there dying," Mr. Cruise said. "The next time, we'll stay in the States. I'm not going back there again." The visitors say anti-American comments continued when the young players faced off against the Beverly Bandits, a team from Beverly, Ont. U.S. players say the Canadians hurled insults during face-offs and at other times. "They told us we sucked, gave us the finger and said 'Down with the U.S.A.' or 'The U.S.A. sucks," Mr. Nadeau said. At one point, a Canadian player made a disparaging remark about the United States "and the referee turned around and said, 'I agree with you.' "What stunned us was that the referee, who is supposed to be unbiased, is agreeing with the boys on the ice." His players "wanted to retaliate" against the Canadians, but Mr. Nadeau said he urged them "not to do anything foolish." Denis Desrochers, president of the minor hockey team in Beverly, west of Hamilton, said in an interview that he had heard nothing about the anti-American slurs. "It boggles my mind that the kids would say that. They don't even talk about it," he said. "I wouldn't tolerate it. Whether you're American or Canadian, you're not allowed to swear at any kids." On Saturday, Mr. Carpenter went for a walk downtown with his two children as another antiwar demonstration unfolded in Montreal -- one of several that drew huge crowds in a province staunchly opposed to the war. Mr. Carpenter came across a knot of demonstrators surrounding a protester who, with an Iraqi flag and a U.S. flag, had climbed atop a traffic light. The crowd cheered when the man waved the Iraqi flag, and booed the U.S. flag, Mr. Carpenter said. Then the protester doused the U.S. flag in kerosene. "It went up in a puff of smoke and flames, and the crowd went wild. They were all cheering," said Mr. Carpenter, whose 24-year-old son, a U.S. Marine, was sent to retrieve bodies of Americans killed in the 2001 terrorist bombing of USS Cole in Yemen. Mr. Carpenter tried to explain the anti-American displays to his children. "I said to my kids, 'These folks disagree with our government, not you personally.' " As they crossed the border into the United States, cheers went up in the bus. "We were very, very happy to get back home," Mr. Nadeau said. Diplomacy scores big as hockey row ends amicably http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030403/UHOCKN//?query=Brockton By INGRID PERITZ With a report from Shawn McCarthy in Ottawa Thursday, April 3, 2003 - Page A14 MONTREAL -- The face of the polite Canadian resurfaced yesterday for a group of U.S. peewee hockey players. The children had run into a barrage of anti-U.S. hostility during a recent tournament in Montreal. One of the hockey families was inundated with calls of support and sympathy from across Canada after reports about the Americans' soured trip north. "The response has been overwhelming," Bill Carpenter, father of two peewee players, said from Brockton, south of Boston. The booing and insults that the 11- and 12-year-old players on the Broxton Boxers team had witnessed on a four-day trip to Montreal last month were another sign of uneasy Canada-U.S. relations over the war against Iraq. In the face of frosty bilateral relations, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley will head to Washington next week to find ways to best manage new U.S. rules that could clog border crossings. Mr. Manley denied yesterday that his trip is to mend fences, despite complaints from U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci last week that the U.S. administration is "disappointed and upset" with the Liberal government's decision not to participate in the war on Iraq. Mr. Manley said the key issue for him will be to find ways to lessen the impact of border rules that will require people to check in at each country's customs house as they enter and exit the United States and Canada. In Montreal yesterday, Mr. Cellucci somewhat softened his criticism of Canada, focusing on the need for both countries to work on improving their relationship. Speaking to reporters after a speech to the Quebec Electrical Industry Association, Mr. Cellucci said the countries' differences would cause some short-term strain but added repeatedly that Canada is indirectly doing more to support the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq than most of the 49 countries in the existing war coalition. "I had a message to deliver last week, and I did it. We also have work to do, and we need to focus on the work." Mr. Cellucci called the peewee hockey team's experience "unfortunate," but he said the events did not represent the views of most Canadians. Several players on the Brockton Boxers team witnessed the burning of a U.S. flag and the booing of their national anthem, and were insulted by an Ontario peewee team that competed against them, according to parents. The children's bus, clearly identifiable as American because of its logo, was met with rude gestures on the street. "I've travelled throughout Quebec; I've travelled throughout Canada. There's a deep reservoir of goodwill between the two countries," Mr. Cellucci said. "I think it's unfortunate when things like that happen. "I know that emotions are running high relative to this war in Iraq. So I hope that that kind of behaviour would not continue." Many parents of the U.S. team members swore they would never return to Canada. Mr. Carpenter said he is ready to reconsider. One telephone call he received yesterday was an invitation from a Montreal minor-hockey association to the Massachusetts players to return for a second -- and presumably more amiable -- matchup. "I've received calls from many Canadians who said they regretted what happened to us, and they wanted us to know that not all Canadians felt the same way," Mr. Carpenter said. "They wanted me to know that a lot of Canadians still support Americans, even if they don't support the war. "They don't feel ill will. "This has changed my thinking." Organizers of Montreal's large antiwar demonstrations said their intention was to target the Bush administration's war on Iraq, not individual Americans. ===== ----------------------------------------------------------------------- John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country � your enemy is ruling your country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation." -George W. Bush 1/29/03 __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more http://tax.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
