Canada’s hockey case exposed a toxic culture – yet the accuser ended up on trial

Judge seemed to scrutinize female accuser more harshly than the five hockey players who were charged with sexual assault but ultimately walked free

The stunning conclusion to a pivotal sexual assault trial has left some observers in Canada shocked but unsurprised - not only by a judge who seemed to scrutinize the female accuser more harshly than the five ice hockey players who ultimately walked free, but by yet another missed opportunity for a reckoning in the macho culture of a major professional sport.

The blockbuster case seemed to crystallize any number of hot-button topics - the #MeToo movement, the nature of consent, the role of pornography, the impunity of men - in the most Canadian way possible: through hockey.