NHL community strives to end racism after alleged incidents in AHL, ECHL
'There's no room for that in anything, especially sports,' Oilers' Kassian says
Jordan Subban, a defenseman with South Carolina of the ECHL, accused Jacksonville defenseman Jacob Panetta of making a racist taunt during a game Saturday. Subban is the younger brother of New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban and Buffalo Sabres goalie Malcolm Subban.
The game was in overtime when South Carolina forward Andrew Cherniwchan collided with Jacksonville goalie Justin Kapelmaster. Subban said he then tried to engage Panetta in a fight, and Panetta responded by allegedly taunting Subban, who is Black.
P.K. Subban on Sunday
called the incident "distasteful."
"There's no room for it in our game," he said. "I'm embarrassed because our game is better than this. What I think about is all the great people and the great things about our game that I love."
Forward Kyle Okposo, a teammate of Malcolm Subban's with the Sabres, said talking about racism is one way to combat it. Okposo's father, Kome, is Nigerian.
"It's a hard thing, especially when it hits close to home like that," Okposo said. "I don't know Malcolm's brother. Obviously, I've played against P.K. throughout the years. I've been through that before, I've had that feeling, and it's not a good one. I can understand the rage that he displayed after it. Like, it's something that cuts you to the core, for sure.
"It's a difficult thing that we're still dealing with things like this in our society in today's day and age. It's 2022. I think that the best way to affect change is through people that you know and having real and honest conversations through people that you have relationships [with]."
Okposo said determination will be required to continue to face and eliminate racism.
"I hope that we can start to continue to move forward as a society," Okposo said. "I think there's obviously been steps taken, but it's not going to change overnight. We need to continue to learn how to treat people with respect, unfortunately. But we have to move forward in this."
Sabres coach Don Granato called the incident Saturday "disturbing" and said he believes the responses can reshape the future narrative when it comes to racism.
"I do believe that the rallying of people in unfortunate instances that happen is really inspiring and motivating and influential, very positive, influential," Granato said. "I think the sport is healthy in response, is healthy in the fact they care, and we all want to do the right things. It's learning how to do the right things better I think is what we're all as a society going through and a sport.
"But it's unfortunate that incidents happen, and I guess you hope for, in this sake, obviously Malcolm and his family, that they can get through it, feel the love, support from so many people in hockey are really good people and don't have any time of day for this thing."
Jacksonville announced Panetta was being released. He denied it was a racist gesture Sunday.
On Jan. 19, the AHL suspended San Jose forward Krystof Hrabik for 30 games following a racial gesture directed at Tucson forward Boko Imama during a game Jan. 12.
The NHL issued this statement Sunday: "Incidents of racism, whether they occur in hockey or anywhere else, are abhorrent. The NHL will continue to make its resources available to the hockey ecosystem to educate and inform, with the goal of making the game welcoming and safe for all players and fans."
Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said awareness and education will continue to be part of the path to healthier attitudes and actions.
"I think it's really important to acknowledge the steps that have been taken over the last little while to improve eliminating racism in our game, but obviously we have a lot of work to do with learning, discussions and understanding and how we can continue to apply that to make a difference and continue make our game better and that much more inclusive," Tavares said Monday. "I thought that was important to acknowledge that today, and it's something we addressed as a team as well."
As part of their commitment, the Maple Leafs have been working with former NHL forward Mark Fraser, who played for Toronto from 2012-14. He accepted a player development, equity, diversity and inclusion role with the team last March.
"[Racism] is not something I've ever had to deal with and have really truly understood, so taking the time to understand what it's like to be in someone else's shoes in discussions with other players around the League like (Maple Leafs forward) Wayne Simmonds and [I've] chatted with P.K., just trying to continue to educate myself and apply that to my daily life and the way I go about things and how I can make a bigger difference," Tavares said.
Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian said he was sickened by the recent incidents and called for more respect, on and off the ice.
"There's no room for that in anything, especially sports," Kassian said Monday. "I don't know how it gets to that point, but there's definitely no room for it, not only in sports in general, but just in life. It's pretty, pretty sad."
