Okay, so while I dislike Kentās ending on so, so many levels, Iām actively squicked by the implication that Jack was allowed to have anxiety and issues during his time in Juniors Hockey (which we know he did, especially in regard to living up to his dadās hockey legacy), but that Kent wasnāt, and that Kent was somehow responsible for managing Jackās anxiety/mental health.
Iāve been readingĀ Crossing the Line: Violence and Sexual Assault in Canadaās National Sport by Laura Robinson, which is a book that examines the toxic masculinity and rape culture within Juniors Hockey, where Kent and Jack were playing. It is a deeply troubled system that allows vast power disparities between coaches and players, fails to prevent extreme hazing even when thereās express bylaws against it, is ripe for giving predators continued and unhindered access to victims, and is overwhelmed by the idea that women exist to be used by men, mistreated, and then unceremoniously disposed of, and that women who try to speak out about sexual assault areĀ āattention-seeking troublemakers.āĀ
And above all, there is a prevailing attitude of homophobiaāthat not living up to traditional masculine standards and breaking from the group in any way is a betrayal of the team and hockey itself.
However, Kentās story arc ends on the conclusion that he was at fault for Jackās anxiety during this eraāhim and no one else, because he was involved with Jack and therefore should have been looking out for him. (Even though they were only hooking up a few times and not officially together. Somehow, Kent is still responsible.)
Think about that for a moment. The pressures of Junior Hockey, with all of its homophobia, misogyny, and hazing, and their effect on a queer teenager with anxiety, somehow arenāt the responsibility of the straight white men who built and maintained that culture. Itās not the fault of the coaches who turn a blind eye to hazing or seek to enable it. Itās not the fault of a system that allow flagrant homophobia to run unchecked. Itās not even the fault of Bad Bob, who knows what the Junior Hockey system is like but is never shown objecting to or even worrying about Jackās participation.
Instead, all of the blame for Jackās issues is passed onto Kent, another queer teenager who was just as helpless to stop the system they were a part of as Jack was. Check Please, for all that itās praised for fighting against toxic masculinity in sports, ultimately decided that toxic masculinity wasnāt the problemābut that a young closeted queer man was, for not being as supportive of a friend (or rather, as supportive of an occasional hookup) to Jack as he should have been.
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