Black Hockey Player Says Racism On Rink Must Be Addressed Immediately, Like Other Penalties – Halifax | The Canadian News

When a hockey player hits someone from behind and sends them crashing into the boards, an immediate penalty and in-game misconduct are applied. It shouldn’t be any different when racism comes into play, says 16-year-old Halifax Hawks goalkeeper Mark Connors.

Connors, a black hockey player, shares his story of the alleged racial abuse he suffered while playing in a hockey tournament in Charlottetown nearly three weeks ago.

“It started with some onlookers calling me some racial slurs, saying ‘N-word you shouldn’t be here’ or ‘Halifax has an N-word for a goalkeeper,'” Connors said. “One guy said, ‘N-word sucks,’ and that sort of thing.”

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Halifax goalkeeper receives support for alleged racist incident at PEI hockey tournament

He shook the young goalkeeper, but tried to focus on the game. Later, he told his coaching staff the comments they made.

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“I told the coaching staff that I was pretty mad about it,” Connors said. “It shouldn’t be happening in 2021.”

The Hawks contacted the tournament organizers and Hockey PEI to ask what would happen next and were told that Hockey PEI is taking the matter seriously and has hired an outside investigator from outside the province to conduct an investigation. .

The Hawks are satisfied with the decision, but the organization and the 700 players will no longer travel to Prince Edward Island to participate in any tournaments until the matter is resolved.

“We were very clear that until we were confident that it would be a safe environment for all of our players, we would not return to PEI at any time,” said Craig Robinson, vice president of community engagement with the Halcones.

The Hawks executive says they have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to racism and that they must take all steps to protect the well-being of their players.

“The Hawks have multiple players playing on different teams, but we are one team, and if one of our team is not safe to go anywhere, neither of our teams is safe to go there,” Robinson said.

Hockey PEI issued a statement on its Twitter page saying that it learned of the allegations of racial discrimination on November 24 and took immediate action by opening an investigation into the serious matter.

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“This incident remains under full investigation and we will share our findings at the end of the process,” Hockey PEI President Al MacIsaac said in the statement.

Robinson says the Hawks are encouraged by Hockey PEI’s commitment to investigate the matter, but says this needs to be addressed in a timely manner.

“We think this possibly should have happened sooner than now, but at least they have recognized that there is a need for external support and a need for professional advice and they are moving on that,” Robinson said.

Connors agrees and says incidents of racism on the hockey field need to be addressed immediately, like any other sanction or infraction, but is hopeful that the investigation can present better ways for hockey organizations to address the problem of more timely manner.

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“It’s kind of frustrating to know that players are suspended the next day for things on the ice,” says Connors. “This is now going to last three weeks and surely there could have been a faster response to this type of incident.”

Connors says it’s important for him to share his story to shed light on the issue of racism in sport “because this shouldn’t be happening,” but the goalkeeper knows he’s not alone.

Others have reached out and supported, such as NHL defender PK Subban, who took to Twitter to show his support.

“When does it stop?” Subban wrote. “Believe it or not, these stories are sent to me every day. This happens every day in our game. EVERY DAY!”

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Connors’ father Wayne says the support shown for his son has been incredible, but he wants Hockey Canada to step in and help with the ongoing investigation.

“PEI Hockey needs help,” he said.

© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.



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