Sheldon Kennedy

Sheldon Kennedy skated for three teams in his eight-year NHL career and played for Canada’s gold-medal-winning team in the 1988 World Junior Hockey Championship. He is best known for his courageous decision to charge his minor-league hockey coach, Graham James, with sexual assault for the abuse he suffered over a five-year period while a teenager under Graham’s care. Sheldon’s subsequent decision to go public with the charges rocked the hockey world and thrust him into the media spotlight, where he became an unofficial spokesperson for millions of sexual abuse survivors in North America. His life story was made into an award-winning television movie, and he has appeared on Oprah, ABC’s Nightline, W5, and The Fifth Estate.After retiring from the NHL, Sheldon in-line skated across Canada to raise awareness of sexual abuse issues. Sheldon now works as a youth counsellor in Calgary, where he lives with his daughter, Ryan.