(Hockey Addictions)
Jordin TooToo’s big step
So read the headline in the Comment section on the December 29, 2010 issue of the GLOBE AND MAIL.
As some of you may know, Jordin TooToo is from Rankin Inlet in Nunavut. Jordin was the first Inuk (Inuit) to be drafted by the National Hockey League (NHL) and now plays for the Nashville Predators. The 27 year old checked himself into a Rehab Centre under the NHL substance abuse program. Good for him.
As some of you may also know, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) was established in 1998 to address the legacy of physical and sexual abuses in the former residential schools. Since then, the AHF has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to Aboriginal communities across Canada to address the legacy. The AHF has defined the legacy as, amongst other things, substance abuse by Survivors of residential school.
Interesting how Jordin TooToo who never attended residential school has suffered the same effect of substance abuse of those who did attend residential school. So what gives?
While, as a board member on the AHF, I argued with the other board members that physical and sexual abuse in the former residential schools were merely the acts that affected the “person.” Those inflicted abuses affected the sense of security experienced by each person. Insecure people will display behavior that is largely negative and detrimental in him/herself.
While Jordin has his sense of significance intact; i.e. he feels noteworthy and feels value within an organization who pays him 1.3 million a year, his actions of substance abuse, for some reason, are a sign of insecurity.
The article goes on to say that Jordin is somewhat of a role model to the Inuit of Nunavut. Now, “Mr. TooToo is playing a game more important than hockey, and if he can succeed, others can too.”
Let's hope he regains his sense of security.
