A hockey player who won Olympic gold for Canada is now calling out Hockey Canada for severely underpaying her medical expenses – an accusation that comes after the sports organization was slammed for its controversial fund for sexual abuse claims.
Katherine Marie "Katie" Weatherston won gold for Canada as a member of the women’s national ice hockey team in the 2006 Winter Olympics. While now retired, she is also suffering from an ongoing traumatic brain injury from her time as a player, and she claims that Hockey Canada only offered her $4,000 to pay for her treatment.
"It was a slap in the face back then, when I was told they only have $4,000 to give me," Weatherston told CBC News.
She also called out the organization for its controversial National Equity Fund, a self-insurance system used to pay for harassment and sexual misconduct claims, when Hockey Canada could have used the cash to help pay for the medical treatment of her and other players.
"And now it's absolutely shocking what's come out and that they had no money for me, but they have money for this.… It's not fair. I don't want to see it happen to other young female athletes."
Hockey Canada came under fire very recently for using the so-called National Equity Fund to settle a $3.5 million sexual assault lawsuit. The organization had revealed that a sizable portion of payer insurance fees went into the fund.
CBC News reached out to Hockey Canada, which said that the safety of its athletes is its “highest” priority,” and that it has different insurance policies or self-insured funds "that may be available" to players. Hockey Canada added that it has a Health Benefit Trust that covers uninsured medical and dental expenses up to $5,000.
But according to Weatherston, that amount is not enough.
"The medical care I need is about $30,000 to $40,000 a year," she said. "I can't afford to pay that much toward my medical bills, so I'm not getting the care I need."
Weatherston explained that for the past 16 years, she has been paying $15,000 annually out of pocket for her medical care, to treat her daily headaches, chronic exhaustion, and the sensation of her ears popping.
Watching the Hockey Canada scandal unfold was an "extra shot to the gut" for Weatherston.
"They closed the book on me," she said. I had a great experience with Hockey Canada, some of the best memories of my life. But I also had a terrible experience because I felt like they just threw me to the wayside.”
"I definitely would give back my gold medal in a heartbeat for my health."
