Slur was uttered but not by Doan: Hockey Canada

OTTAWA (CP) Hockey Canada officials launched an impassioned defence Thursday of their decision to appoint Shane Doan captain of Team Canada at the World Hockey Championships.

Hockey Canada chief Bob Nicholson told a parliamentary committee that a cultural slur was certainly uttered during a 2005 NHL game but said it was not Doan who uttered it.

As for Doan, the head of Hockey Canada says he has known the star forward since he was a teenager and described him as a gentle-hearted, devout Christian who doesnt even swear.

You should get to know Shane Doan, Nicholson said.

You can talk to all of his teammates that have played with him. He says fudge, a lot if he gets upset. Hes a Christian and a person that I am proud to know.

The surreal spectacle of hockey officials being grilled by politicians played out in a stately chamber on Parliament Hill, beneath a solemn portrait of the Fathers of Confederation.

The potentially explosive mix of politics, hockey, and linguistic tension drew the attention of Ottawas most powerful figures.

The top official in Prime Minister Stephen Harpers office chief of staff Ian Brodie arrived to monitor part of the proceedings and another PMO staffer sat through the 90-minute hearing.

Nicholsons voice rose in anger after aggressive questions from a Bloc Quebecois MP, who said Doan should never have been made captain because of the controversy.

So what youre telling me is its okay to make racist insults in certain situations, Bloc MP Luc Malo said after one hockey official pointed out that insults are part of the game.

Malo said Team Canada should have accepted Doans offer to step aside because of the controversy:

Why dont you follow the logical suggestion of Mr. Doan himself and give the C to someone else?

The attack from the sovereigntist MP prompted Nicholsons most spirited defence of a man he called a proud Canadian.

He said Doan has represented his country eight times, has the support of all his teammates, and has sacrificed part of his post-season family time to represent Canada for free.

Were taking Shane Doan, his wife, his mom and dad, his four kids through an allegation that could have been dictated by someone else, Nicholson said.

This is not right.

Members of all political parties demanded to know why Doan was chosen captain in the face of accusations that it was he who uttered the slur at a French-Canadian linesman.

Doan says all he did was make a sarcastic remark to a teammate Curtis Joseph who was infuriated by a penalty call in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.

He says he told Joseph: Four French referees in Montreal, Cuje, figure it out.

The NHL has cleared Doan but just last month linesman Michel Cormier testified in a court hearing that he was skating right next to Doan when he heard the slur.

There is no question those words were said on the ice, Nicholson said.

The National Hockey Leagues investigation clearly shows that that was stated, but it also clearly shows that they felt that it wasnt Shane Doan.

That is why we are here today to protect Shane Doan.