Speaker 1: From the time she was a kid, Justine Blaney knew
Speaker 1: what she wanted to do. She wanted to play ice
Speaker 1: hockey in the Metro Toronto Hockey League. There was only
Speaker 1: one problem. She wanted to play with the boys. Hey,
Speaker 1: I'm Tony Armstrong. Welcome to the poolroom. This is where
Speaker 1: we celebrate the winners, losers, and the weird stuff between.
Speaker 1: Growing up in Canada, Justine Blaney had a special relationship
Speaker 1: with the ice. She started with figures while her brother
Speaker 1: David played hockey. It wasn't long before Justine realized that's
Speaker 1: where her heart was too. She'd picked up a hockey
Speaker 1: stick by age seven, and by the time she was
Speaker 1: ten years old, she was determined to go pro. This
Speaker 1: was the nineteen seventies. Girls did play then, but they
Speaker 1: had fewer games, worse equipment, and it was no contact.
Speaker 1: Justine joined the team anyway, the Lee Side Wildcats, but
Speaker 1: she didn't play like them. She was tough and she
Speaker 1: had a knack for blocking shots. Her history with figure
Speaker 1: skating made her quick on the ice, and she loved
Speaker 1: the physicality of the sport. That would have been fine
Speaker 1: in the boys league, where body checking was allowed from
Speaker 1: age eleven, but for Justine, it just seemed to get
Speaker 1: her into trouble. She wasn't content with tagging along to
Speaker 1: her brother's training sessions anymore. She wanted to play. In
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty one, Justine won a spot in the Metro
Speaker 1: Toronto Hockey League. She was good enough to join, but
Speaker 1: she wasn't allowed to play. Her mother came up with
Speaker 1: the idea of writing a letter to the newspaper, could
Speaker 1: anyone help get the rules changed. To their surprise, a
Speaker 1: lawyer responded, Anna Fraser was pretty fresh to practicing law,
Speaker 1: but she loved hockey and she wanted Justine to have
Speaker 1: equal footing. With Anna's help, Justine made a complaint to
Speaker 1: the Human Rights Commission. It was rejected. Although the Ontario
Speaker 1: Human Rights Code said no one could be excluded based
Speaker 1: on their sex, there was one exception sport boys and
Speaker 1: girls could be forced to play separately. Anna Phraser's mission
Speaker 1: quickly changed. She wouldn't just get Justine her spot in
Speaker 1: the team, She would change the law. In nineteen eighty five,
Speaker 1: when Justine was just twelve years old, they headed to
Speaker 1: the Ontario the Rio Supreme Court. If Justine was good
Speaker 1: enough to earn a spot, they argued she was good
Speaker 1: enough to play. Besides, the law was simple discrimination. Canadian
Speaker 1: law said everyone was equal. But they lost the case.
Speaker 1: Justine's life was turned upside down. People recognized her on
Speaker 1: the street and called her crazy. Some even physically threatened her,
Speaker 1: but she was determined. In nineteen eighty six, eleven days
Speaker 1: after her thirteenth birthday, Justine took her case to the
Speaker 1: Ontario Court of Appeal. After three months of silence, she
Speaker 1: was given the news. Finally they had won. But it
Speaker 1: wasn't that simple. It turned out the Ontario Hockey Association
Speaker 1: didn't really agree. Eventually, they said they'd made an exception
Speaker 1: for Justine, but wouldn't promise the same for other girls.
Speaker 1: Justine turned them down. The case to the Human Rights Commission,
Speaker 1: then a Board of Inquiry. For three long years, Justine
Speaker 1: fought the law. Then right before her fifteenth birthday, a
Speaker 1: final decision was made she could play. Justine had been
Speaker 1: offered a spot in the East Enders, her brother's team,
Speaker 1: but with the court case fiasco, her place on the
Speaker 1: roster have been given to another player. She was allowed
Speaker 1: to play, but there was no space on the team. So,
Speaker 1: knowing how hard she'd fought to get there. Justine's brother
Speaker 1: David quit the team his spot became hers. Justine Blaney
Speaker 1: only played in the men's competition until her late teens,
Speaker 1: but the law she helped change has had a lasting impact.
Speaker 1: More than one hundred girls play alongside the boys in
Speaker 1: the Greater Toronto Hockey League, as it's now known, showing
Speaker 1: everyone how competitive they can be, and it was Ustine
Speaker 1: who got them there. I hope you enjoyed this episode
Speaker 1: of the Ballroom and iHeart production. I'm Tony Armstrong and
Speaker 1: I'll speak to you soon.