You don’t have to be a snowflake to take issue with minimizing fascism and anti-semitism. And nothing destroys a team like racial, religious etc hatred.
See, this is the problem with discussing this. It is a no win situation as there is no way for someone to prove or disprove that they are prejudice against race, religion, etc. The guilt by association of the boys who were innocent by standards is not right.
The problems only start when folks say “I don’t condone Nazis but ...â€. Just stop before the “but.†Problem solved.
And when you do not do that the snowflakes all think you are one. Again a no win situation if you want to actually discuss any thing that slightly goes against what the mass media is pushing.
Part of the problem, it seems, is that every teams has "leaders" or perhaps more accurately, dominant personalities, which may reflect an implicit hierarchy on the team. If the "leader" or "leaders" think that racism, fascism, or religious bigotry is funny or trivial, then the other kids, who may well disagree but are shy about speaking up, will get caught up in the fallout if those beliefs and behaviors go public. It is hard for me to believe that all 15 kids share those beliefs. But not a lot of 14 year olds have the skills, experience, or guts to speak up and say, "this is wrong and it is definitely not funny." With the obsession with developing their hockey skills and on winning, why would the kids, their parents, or coaches find time or have an inclination to develop those other, life or civil society, skills. Someone, somewhere in the lives of these young men needs to see that the others on the team need learn something about empowerment or speaking up for what is right. This is a challenge since the teen years are largely about finding acceptance and getting along. The kid who might speak up, if any, will probably be seen as an outcast on the team. Teams and coaches probably don't value that and the more the team travels, the less likely a kid will survive as an outcast. If coaches and parents have a responsibility, it is not knowing much about the true dynamics of the team or not wanting to know about those dynamics. But painting each kid with the same brush is unfair. The true nature of the team "leader/s" is unclear but suspect. Scapegoating "snowflakes" or the media is not helpful and deflects attention from the problem of how toxic culture evolves in any group.