By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

Former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy brings documentary “Swift Current” to Lethbridge College

Feb 16, 2018 | 10:59 AM

LETHBRIDGE –  “We have to be able to discuss these cases and show up around the table.”

As a former NHL player and WHL star, Sheldon Kennedy lived a destructive lifestyle. He was addicted to alcohol and cocaine and took huge risks with his life on and off the ice, according to his documentary “Swift Current.” His actions impacted his health, his career, and his family life.

The documentary, directed by Joshua Rofe, was screened by students and faculty in the Centre for Justice and Human Services Thursday afternoon.

“I was portrayed as this out of control, drunk kid,” Kennedy explains in the documentary. “There was something wrong with me. I had to protect a secret.”

That secret was the years of sexual abuse he and other players suffered at the hands of former Swift Current Broncos WHL Coach, Graham James.

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James was convicted of 350 counts of sexual assault against Kennedy and another unnamed player and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail. He was pardoned for his crimes by the National Parole Board in 2010, a move that drew widespread criticism.

Kennedy has since become one of the country’s leading advocates for children, and Thursday’s screening was co-organized by the Southern Alberta Child Advocacy Centre.

He says abuse is not just a “police problem.” It’s a mental health, wellness, and social services issue- and more agencies need to work together to understand the issues.

“If you look at the [Larry] Nassar case or you look at the [Graham] James case, if you look at all the adults that surrounded those cases, that had a gut feeling or some type of knowledge that was going on, and nobody did anything. So to me, that’s systemic.

“98 per-cent of the cases that we investigate, the child knows their abuser and they’re in a position of power over that child. And 47 per cent of these cases are a parent or care-giver. So ‘stranger-danger’ and the perception that we have of a criminal or bad person isn’t the case most of the time.”

And he says the more everyone can educate themselves, the more children feel comfortable bringing a complaint forward without judgement. Kennedy believes that’s the best path forward to make sure those incidents don’t occur repeatedly.

He stresses that even if children don’t actually come out and say something, their actions speak loudly.

“They tell in many, many ways. They tell by cuts on their arm. They tell by dropping out of school, they tell by dropping out of sports, they tell by acting out. And I think as think as caretakers of children in our community, whether we’re parents, whether we’re coaches, whether we’re teachers or volunteers in a position, we need to be aware. We need to take the time to learn. And when we see signs, we need to be able to have the confidence to ask questions.”

Now, Kennedy says it’s important to give back, and he does so through his advocacy. He also makes his own mental health a top priority.

“We had to show kids and people there is a way out. And that you can become a good person…a lot of times they don’t believe they’re a good person or that they can ever get there. So, I have to make my mental well-being and my wellness a priority and I do that. Which gives me the strength to continually do this work.”

He makes it clear that times have changed generally for the better since he came forward with his story 20 years ago. More people are learning about crimes against children and how it impacts their lives at the time, and as adults.

“I’ve seen a significant change. Are we there yet? No… we have definitely moved the needle and I hope to continually move that needle.”