A hockey scout with more than 30 years of experience landed his team a fine recently after his comment went viral online.
Terry Bonner, 85, was happy to talk about his team’s newest draft picks last week, but seemingly could not help but give a female reporter a compliment before answering her question.
‘The remarks are not reflective of the organization’s standards of respect and inclusion.’
Bonner is the head scout for the Vancouver Giants, a team in the Western Hockey League, one of three leagues that make up Canada’s junior hockey system. The Canadian system produces more NHL players than anywhere else in the world.
Since Bonner has been a scout in the WHL since 1992 and his team had the third pick in the draft, he was brought on for commentary during draft coverage on the Victory+ network.
Host Cami Kepke asked Bonner about the Giants’ pick, a promising 14-year-old youngster named Eli Vickers.
“What made him a fit for the Giants organization?” Kepke asked, noting the player’s talent level.
“Well, thank you very much. You’re a good-looking girl,” Bonner responded. The scout had a chuckle, then gave his reasoning for his team’s picks.
The lone compliment was enough to set off alarm bells for the WHL, and it likely did not help that just one version of the video on X was seen by more than 2.5 million viewers.
According to Fox News, WHL Commissioner Dan Near said in a statement that the Giants would be fined $5,000 over the remark, because Bonner’s conduct was apparently detrimental to the league.
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“Accountability is a cornerstone value of our league — that includes both players and staff,” Near explained. The commissioner added that Bonner’s comment fell short of what the league expects in terms of “inclusion.”
“In this instance, regardless of intent, the remarks are not reflective of the organization’s standards of respect and inclusion.”
The WHL has mandatory training and webinars on “respect in hockey,” which include educating players about “consent, healthy relationships, diversity, and the risks of bullying, hazing, harassment, and abuse.”
The league has also said it requires annual “mandatory WHL Diversity and Inclusion education” and bars players from participating in any conduct — including speech, gestures, or social media posts — that are considered derogatory.
Blaze News has reached out to the Vancouver Giants for comment.
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Ben Nelms/Getty Images
Reporter Kepke has not made any public statements regarding the matter and did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
Kepke recently announced that she would be working for Canadian broadcaster TSN as well as Victory+ for the WHL championship and has worked in sports broadcasting for about 10 years.
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