Devils Stand by Subbans | BLOG

The New Jersey Devils have issued a statement in support of defenseman P.K. Subban and his brother Jordan, who was subjected to a racist gesture during an ECHL contest, and against all such disgusting and appalling acts of its kind.
"We stand in support of Jordan, P.K., the Subban family and anyone who has experienced discrimination within our sport. This week's racist acts within the hockey community are unacceptable and have no place in the game or anywhere."
Jordan, 26, was involved in an altercation Saturday night after being taunted by an opposing player, Jacob Panetta, with a racist and dehumanizing gesture.

Following Saturday's game - which featured Jordan's South Carolina Stingrays and Panetta's Jacksonville Icemen - Subban took to Twitter to clarify the extent of the situation.
Responding to a tweet by the Icemen, Subban wrote: "More like @JPanetta12 was too much of a coward to fight me and as soon as I began to turn my back he started making monkey gestures at me so I punched him in the face multiple times and he turtled like the coward he is. There I fixed it."
P.K. responded with a series of tweet of his own: "They don't call the east coast league the jungle because my brother and other black players are monkeys! Hey @jacobpanetta you shouldn't be so quick delete your Twitter or your Instagram account you will probably be able to play again… that's what history says but things are changing. now not just the hockey world knows your true colours… your hometown of Belleville knows, your family, and friends know you're a fraud ..with everything that has gone on in the past couple years in the world I'll say with all due respect to everyone who has an opinion, this isn't a mistake. We all know what's ok and what's not. Even your own teammates wanted to see you get your clock cleaned. This happens a lot and it never gets exposed in the lower leagues. One thing that I love about this is Jordan's teammates standing in there and showing support. Love that. Shout out to @robconcannon & @scstingrayshockey."
P.K. attached a video snippet in his initial tweet that shows the sequence (WARNING: the video contains some profanity and imagery that may not be appropriate for children). It begins with a scrum in the corner and follows the players to toward the bench. As Jordan is being led away, Panetta can be seen motioning his arms to resemble a monkey at the 19-second mark. At that point, Jordan charges for Panetta and another scrum ensues.

Subban had recently spoken about the progress the sport has made in accepting Black players and the legacy of Willie O'Ree, the NHL's first Black player, on the day the icon had his jersey number retired in Boston.