QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau resigns effective immediately

Gilles Courteau, the commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), resigned effective immediately Sunday.

“After devoting my life to the league, it is time for me to step down and pass the torch,” Courteau tweeted.

The long-time QMJHL boss leaves the league in turmoil after allegations of sexual misconduct in the Q.

“Although it is not an easy decision to make, it is necessary,” Courteau wrote. “Recent events have also been  on such a scale that my family members have been affected. Continuing would not be the right ting to do.

“I hope that my resignation will be understood by all involved, parents, players, coaches, owners, and fans, as the beginning of a new direction, a different direction.”

Aujourd’hui, j’ai communiqué avec monsieur Richard Létourneau, président du comité exécutif de la @LHJMQ, pour lui annoncer ma démission, effective immédiatement. Après avoir consacré ma vie à la ligue, il est temps pour moi de tirer ma révérence et de passer le flambeau. pic.twitter.com/uq70W2jVDZ

— Gilles Courteau (@gcourteauhockey) March 5, 2023

“He’s been there basically, you know, almost the beginning of the QMJHL, really. He’s obviously brought the league very far. But it probably at this point, you know, maybe it was time for him to move on,” said Dustin Alexander, co-host of the Habs Forum Podcast.

“I think he was dealing with obviously a lot of pressure. A lot of pressure from all sides, really a lot of pressure from the government.”

Quebec Premier François Legault publically questioned his trust in Courteau last week, despite not calling for his resignation.

The Quebec Liberals and Québec solidaire were calling for him to resign, after they accused him of perjuring himself in a parliamentary committee last week on the issue of sexual misconduct allegations.

“He was leading the Q under a regime where this was allowed to take place. So, of course, any reasonable person is going to ask, what did you know and when did you know it? And so if you don’t want to answer those questions, I guess then resignation is the way to go,” said Moshe Lander, sports economist.

Courteau said at the time that no cases reported in his league were similar to those described in an Ontario court ruling.

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Stephen Quirk, the only QMJHL player involved in the class action suit filed before Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perrel, reported being subjected to humiliating and obscene treatments.

In a media scrum, Courteau indicated that there was no sexual connotation in Stephen Quirk’s testimony. However, the player did report having been sexually abused.

“It is deeply ingrained, and I think it makes it that much more difficult to try and transform a system. It’s not something that’s going to be washed away,” said Lander. “This is something that is going to take years and years. And the thought that somehow that a new leader is now going to be able to implement this policy and this will never be a story again, I think is maybe a little foolish.”

—With files from The Canadian Press