Amanda Johansson opened up about the rude comments.
Amanda Johansson represents the HV71 team in SDHL. Illustration picture. PDO
Swedish ice hockey goaltender Amanda Johansson24, has talked about his experiences with and playing against men in an extensive interview with Expressen.
Johansson represents Tidaholms IF at the club team level, which plays in Sweden’s third highest league level. She has also played in the SDHL in the HV71 women’s team.
According to Johansson, he is treated in his own team as an equal member of the team, but outrageous and sexist shouts echo from the mouths of the opponents.
– Someone told me that I like being taken from behind. Another called me a whore and that I’m a disgusting person when I play with men. Completely incomprehensible comments that have nothing to do with hockey, he said for the magazine.
Teammates effectively intervene in the ugliest comments. Johansson is grateful for this.
– It’s great that my teammates take my side if I can’t answer myself, he said.
Although, according to her, Johansson has been well included in the men’s team, even her own team doubted her at first.
– I heard that some people had been talking behind my back, that what the coaches really think is a girl, she told the magazine.
Johansson’s dream is to play in the national team, but according to him, playing in the men’s team is not considered good by the national team management.
– They have reacted very negatively to my playing in the men’s team. They haven’t wanted to watch my matches or my training. We haven’t had any kind of contact during my entire time at Tidaholm, he said.
A goaltender’s jump to the men’s league is not a common occurrence in women’s hockey, but it is not a rarity either. For example, Finns Nora Räty and Meeri Räisänen have played in men’s leagues in Finland.
Räty played for Kiekko-Vantaa from Mest and the Suomi series in several different teams. Räisänen still plays in the II division.
