Last month, the Department of Player Safety (DOPS) issued suspensions to Warriors forward Dean Holland for an incident during the game against Nottingham Lions on 9 March 2025.
Whitley Warriors Ice Hockey Club were disappointed with the initial ban that was given to Dean. The ban meant that Dean would miss all of next season along with six games he served in the season just ended.
After reading the results of the DOPS review of the incident, we noted a number of inconsistencies with the punishment: in particular, the prominence of the severity of the injury. Whitley Warriors, in consultation with Dean, decided to lodge an appeal.
A comprehensive written appeal was submitted and, despite not being provided any reports from the referee, medical staff or minutes of the DOPS meeting, the appeal was heard via Zoom and was conducted for the Club and Dean by our General Manager Willie Dunn. A number of issues were raised by Willie and as a result, the appeals panel upheld the appeal in part.
The Club felt that the level of suspension was disproportionate to the offence, given the weight placed on the injury despite no medical reports being submitted. Indeed in their findings, the panel concluded:
“…while DOPS considered the extent of the injury as a key factor in determining the original sanction, the Appeal Panel found no medical evidence was presented to support this. As such, they did not consider injury extent as an aggravating factor and deemed the original sanction excessive in this regard.”
The final sanction on Dean will now be suspension for the remainder of the 2024–25 season and for eighteen games at the start of the 2025–26 season.
The Club feels we received a fair hearing by the appeal panel. A number of other issues regarding the work of DOPS were also raised and we look forward to further clarification of its role in the future. In consultation with Dean, we feel this outcome is fair and balanced and we will now draw a line under it, and will make no further comment regarding it.