Black American hockey player victim of racist gesture during Ukraine game

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A black hockey player was the victim of a racist gesture during the second period of a Ukrainian Hockey League game on Sunday. HC Kremenchuk forward Andrei Deniskin played the move to peel and then eat a banana to American Jalen Smereck, who plays for HC Donbass.

As a result of the racist act, Deniskin was kicked out of the game. Here’s a look at what Deniskin did to get kicked (Warning: the video contains racist content).

There is currently a league investigation into why this happened and Deniskin could face further penalty, ESPN said. The UHL said the racist taunt “is unacceptable in a civilized society.”

Deniskin took to social media to apologize, but then deleted the post. ESPN reported that he wrote that his gesture was “that someone may consider a racial insult.” He added: “I respect all people, regardless of race or nationality,” saying his emotions took over at the time.

HC Donbass commented on what happened, saying they were outraged by the act and that “racism has no place in sport”.

Smereck, a 24-year-old Detroit native, is in his first season with HC Donbass in Druzhkivka, Ukraine and previously played in the Arizona Coyotes minor league system. He took to Twitter to thank a fan and also shared a message for other black hockey players.

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