It all started and ended with a T-shirt.
“WE ARE THE JOCKEY CLUB. WE ARE DEDICATED TO JACK DANIELS, KEGS, PARTYING HARD AND CHEERING ON OUR GEEGEES TO VICTORY RAIN OR SHINE,” reads the description on the University of Ottawa’s (U of O) Jockey Club Facebook page, which currently has more than 1,400 likes.
Similar to Carleton’s RedZone, the Jockey Club was a student-run club that started seven years ago to kick-start U of O’s school spirit and get more students going to games. The club organized pre-game parties, transportation to U of O games, and after parties.
The club disbanded in 2014. The problem started with a T-shirt.
Anyone in attendance at a Capital Hoops game or the Panda Game would likely have seen these shirts being sported by U of O fans. Each shirt is emblazoned with the slogan “Hung Like A Gee-Gee.”
The shirts are popular at U of O sporting events, but you won’t find them in the university’s bookstore anymore. Originally sold by members of the Jockey Club, the shirts became so popular the bookstore got in on the action.
Steven Baker-Findlay, the club’s president, said the club had an informal agreement with U of O’s Sports Services to allow them to sell the shirts in the first place.
“We kind of got permission to do this, but there was an administrative side of Ottawa U that didn’t approve of it. And then it amped up even higher when the hockey team allegations came out,” Baker-Findlay said.
In April 2014, Baker-Findlay received a cease and desist letter from U of O. The letter said it officially cancelled the club’s permissions from U of O to use the Gee Gees’ logo in conjunction with the Hung Like a Gee Gee slogan on its website, merchandise, social media, and all of its communications and materials.
The letter said U of O would accept a proposal from the club for a new slogan and if it were to be deemed appropriate, the school would grant permission for the Jockey Club to use the Gee Gees’ logo under a written licensing agreement.
The letter was from Julie Tam, the assistant director of communications for U of O’s Sports Services. Tam could not be reached for comment.
Baker-Findlay said his understanding was that the cease and desist letter was part of the university’s strategy to crack down on rape culture on campus.
“The issue came up a lot over the years and in meetings,” Baker-Findlay said. “We discussed the slogan being an issue with the sexual assault task force.”
Baker-Findlay said the Jockey Club disbanded after they weren’t allowed to make shirts anymore because they could not make enough money to host their events.
“Once we weren’t allowed to use that slogan, we couldn’t promote and didn’t have the financial resources we needed in order to throw the parties. So the events stopped,” Baker-Findlay said.
The Task Force on Respect and Equality was created by U of O on March 6, 2014 after allegations of sexual misconduct by the U of O hockey team while on a road trip for a game in Thunder Bay. It was also created because of a Facebook conversation between five male students that included sexually derogatory comments about the female president of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO). A little more than a month after , the Jockey Club received the cease and desist letter from U of O.
Baker-Findlay said he was inspired to lead the Jockey Club after attending NCAA football games and experiencing the culture that surrounds college sports in the U.S.
“They had hundreds of thousands of people tailgating before the games and I thought it was awesome. So when I stopped playing football for Ottawa U, I thought maybe it would be cool if my friends and I did that. So I started waking up early on Saturday mornings and we’d go down to the parking lot outside of the stadium and have beers and cook hotdogs and invited all of our friends,” Baker-Findlay said.
The idea grew from there when Penelope Talbot-Kelly and Kathleen Reeves, employees at U of O’s Sports Services department at the time, reached out to Baker-Findlay about selling T-shirts and creating the official Jockey Club.
“It was very apparent to us that we had awesome teams, but we didn’t have a big fan base. It was actually kind of embarrassing when away teams would show up and they would have more people in the stands than we did,” Talbot-Kelly said.
Inspired by Wilfred Laurier University’s “We Have Big Hawks” shirts, Talbot-Kelly and Reeves sat down and came up with the infamous “Hung Like A Gee-Gee” slogan.
“We really wanted to get that togetherness, so what’s better than everyone having one T-shirt, regardless of sport?” Talbot-Kelly said.
Initially, Talbot-Kelly said U of O’s Sports Services department loved the idea of promoting U of O’s sports this way. However, they couldn’t have the university associated with the events.
“[Reeves] and I worked for the university, and we actually couldn’t have our names associated with events that had any alcohol. So that’s why Steve and his buddies came into play, which was brilliant. They offered us the house to throw the events, also their enthusiasm. They’re die-hard fans. One of their roommates at the time even drove a school bus,” Talbot-Kelly said.
In the early days, Talbot-Kelly said they would sell T-shirts between classes and behind bars and pubs. But with the help of money from the university for other things busses and food, it grew from a few friends tailgating before games to pub events hosting as many as 1,500 students.
“The only profit we were making from the shirts was going back into planning and throwing events. None of us that were running this were profiting,” Baker-Findlay said. “We were just helping to engage other students and getting them to go to games.”
Baker-Findlay said U of O coaches and team captains would even approach the Jockey Club to ask them to attend certain games to help pump up the team spirit.
“They would talk to us about a game they would want us to be at, so we would plan an event for that game,” Baker-Findlay said.
PROBLEMS WITH THE SHIRTS
Some students, like Mairead Matthews, a first-year U of O public administration and political science student, said they understand why the university stopped supporting the shirts.
“The slogan is a little sexist and I think it kind of promotes dominance of males over females, and I can see how that would perpetuate rape culture,” Matthews said.
Other students and bloggers have also expressed concern that the sexual reference on the shirts ties in with common conflations of athletic prowess with male virility, as well as sports victory with sexual assault.
Anne-Marie Roy, deputy chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students and former SFUO president, said she thinks the slogan was problematic because it contributes to a society in which rape culture is omnipresent.
“I think one of the challenges of a society where rape culture is so prevalent [is that] students don’t necessarily always think to analyze some of the things that we see on campuses,” Roy said. “I think that that T-shirt is one of many examples of rape culture . . . in our society, and we need to take the time to develop that critical analysis and to analyze the different content and messages that we’re all consuming.”
Roy said the slogan contributes to rape culture in that it promotes hypermasculinity and violent attitudes towards women.
She added she thinks the university administration did the right thing in cancelling their agreement with the Jockey Club.
“I think it’s really important for leaders on our campuses, be it student leaders or administrators to lead by example, so I think that was definitely a good move on the University of Ottawa’s part,” Roy said.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL SPIRIT
“I still have dozens of people asking me to this day to buy mine off me because they’re so great,” said Jenny Henderson, a fourth-year communications student at U of O. “I think the faculty needs to lighten up.”
Jean-Philippe Asselin, offensive coordinator for the Carleton Ravens football team, said having a strong fan presence at games helps team performance.
“When you have home field advantage and everybody’s behind you, I think that makes a difference in the games. It’s definitely an important factor in being successful at home. I think it’s a bit deflating when you’re at home and there’s nobody,” Asselin said.
Asselin coached the U of O football team from 2010-2011. He said he thinks the “Hung Like a Gee-Gee” shirts were great for student morale.
“It can really rally the students,” Asselin said.
Baker-Findlay said he thinks students enjoy the community aspect of sport.
“Going to a game with your friends, and cheering for guys in your class that were studying for the same test as you, and are now out there trying to win, you can get behind them and help them and encourage them. You can express yourself and your school and community in that form, and I think a lot of people enjoy that side of collegiate sport. It’s something you’re a part of for four or more years,” Baker-Findlay said.
Disappointed in the collapse of his club, Baker-Findlay said he thinks Canadian schools need to better support the development of school spirit.
“I think there’s a lot of room to change in sports in Canada. Students don’t really know how much fun they can have coming to games and coming together, and I don’t think that universities try hard enough in Canada to unleash that atmosphere like they do in the States,” Baker-Findlay said.
The Jockey Club’s Facebook page description also reads “KEGS AND PARTIES BEFORE GAMES ARE OUR WARMUPS. We are the club that other universities don’t want.”
