Hard criticism of Hockeyallsvenskan's new collaboration: "Wrong signals"

On Friday, Hockeyallsvenskan announced that they have started a collaboration with a company that sells a training program, where participants pay to receive a training program for 16 weeks, with an associated diet schedule.

The response was largely extremely negative on social media, where several hockey profiles questioned why Hockeyallsvenskan chose to start a collaboration with the company in question.

The reason is that, according to critics, they encourage exercise and can trigger eating disorders.

"Most idiotic I've ever seen!"

The former national team and NHL player Jonathan Hedström, who himself suffered from eating disorders during large parts of his career, was one of those who criticized the collaboration.

"The dumbest and most idiotic thing I've ever seen!

I understand that it is against the fans but to go out via Hockeyallsvenskan and encourage excitement makes me sad.

1/5 of all people who suffer from eating disorders die in Sweden ", he wrote on Twitter, where he was supported by, among others, the former coach and the Swedish Ice Hockey Association's former general secretary Tommy Boustedt, SHL's king of points through all time Fredrik Bremberg and Olympic gold medalist Mikael Tellqvist.

"It is irresponsible"

When SVT Sport reaches Hedström by telephone, he develops his criticism.

- I get a little thoughtful about how to talk about health.

I have lived with this disease for so many years, and know exactly what it is about.

You are in deficit for 16 weeks!

I understand that it is a lifestyle change, and you may need to do that.

But to enter into a collaboration with Hockeyallsvenskan, it feels completely wrong for me, he says, and continues:

- When you, like me, are out talking to clubs about what a widespread problem this is in Sweden, it is not about health when you are on a deficit of calories.

I understand that it is aimed at the fans, but it will still be the wrong signals, I think, because it is not about health what so ever.

What signals do you think it sends?

- I think it is irresponsible.

He who runs it has his idea and knows what he thinks about his health, but I who have lived with it and know that it is one in five with eating disorders who die, and know that it is so easy to trigger the disease.

And a thing like this can easily trigger the disease, because you get a bonus when you lose weight, and then it can easily derail.

"Is fully voluntary"

Hockeyallsvenskan's acting CEO and commercial manager Gabriel Mondielle, who in the article where the news of the collaboration was presented says "that we and our clubs can contribute to supporters around the country get to take part in their unique concept for training and diet feels fantastic and lies entirely in line with our investment in public health and sustainability ", tells SVT Sport that the league should have been more careful in emphasizing that the concept" is not for everyone ".

- It is for those who want to embark on the challenge that aims a lot to get in balance with exercise and diet.

It is completely voluntary to participate.

When you mention this with importance, it is the case that the company feels a responsibility for when you enter their program.

They follow up on how their health is going and they continuously measure different points to keep track, he says.

Jonathan Hedström wonders how you think about responsibility, and says that you could have done much else for public health than this.

What do you answer to that?

- If you have problems with eating disorders, I have a very hard time seeing that you would agree to this.

As I understand it, they have very careful control in initial conversations and relationships with those who are hungry for this challenge.

So this is probably nothing for those people if there is someone who is at risk for it.

In recent years, many problems have emerged with eating disorders linked to ice hockey.

Can you understand that people may think that it sends some strange signals connected to that background?

- What I can understand is that we have been able to be clear that this is not for everyone, but that this is really for someone who is looking for a specific challenge in their training and wants to make that journey.

I must admit that we could have been clearer in that.