Hockey PEI admits mishandling racist incident in recent game

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CHARLOTTETOWN – The organization that oversees organized hockey in Prince Edward Island has admitted mismanaging its response to a racist act during a game last month.

Hockey PEI today released a statement saying the penalty imposed on the offending player – a two-game suspension – was too light, and it revoked the suspension of another player, Keegan Mitchell, who had used social media to criticize officials for their response to the racial insult.

Mitchell says that during a Junior B game on December 17, an opposing Kensington Vipers player made an anti-Asian comment towards one of Mitchell’s teammates with the Sherwood Metros.

Later in the game, Mitchell confronted the offending player and cut his legs off, a move that earned Mitchell a two-game suspension.

Last week, Mitchell was suspended indefinitely by the league for suggesting online that the Vipers player deserved a harsher penalty, saying that a suspension of just two games for a racist insult was “absolutely shameful.”

In its statement today, Hockey PEI said the Vipers’ suspension would be extended to five games, and praised Mitchell for “shining the spotlight on our missteps.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on January 12, 2022.

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