Hockey PEI admits mishandling racist incident in recent game

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CHARLOTTETOWN The governing body of organized hockey in Prince Edward Island has admitted to mishandling its reaction to a racist act at a hockey game last month.

Hockey PEI released a statement on Wednesday saying the penalty imposed on the offending player, a two-game suspension, was too light and rescinded the suspension of another player, Keegan Mitchell, who took to social media to criticize officials for their response to the racial slur. .

“Hockey PEI fundamentally believes that racism and discrimination of any form has no place in the game, and we acknowledge and express our sincere regrets for the errors that were made in our handling of the incident,” said the league in the press release.

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

Later in the game, Mitchell confronted the offending player and kicked him in the legs, a move that earned Mitchell a two-game suspension, the same penalty given to the Vipers player for uttering the insult.

Earlier this month, Mitchell was suspended indefinitely by the league for suggesting online that the Vipers player deserved a harsher punishment, saying a two-game ban for racial slur was “absolutely disgraceful”.

“If Hockey PEI took these scenarios as seriously as they say, this player would have been appropriately suspended,” Mitchell said in a Jan. 5 Facebook post. “This pitiful suspension makes our whole community look racist.

At the time, the league said his comments violated its social media policy.

On Wednesday, Hockey PEI changed course. The league ruled the Vipers player’s suspension would be increased to five games, saying the original penalty “was not proportionate” to the offensive act.

The league said it had to acknowledge its “misjudgment” and apologized to the target of the racist comment.

“This incident has made us realize that our inclusivity and anti-harassment guidelines…do not go far enough to protect those they should,” the league said. “We commend Keegan for standing up for what was right and for exposing our missteps around this tragic incident.”

Mitchell released a brief statement Wednesday, saying he was glad he was able to make a difference.

“As I have said before, racism has no place in the game and I will continue to stand up for it,” he wrote in a Facebook post, adding that he was looking forward to returning to play for his team. “I recognize that the fight against racism does not stop there, because there is still a lot of work to be done.”

Hockey PEI has confirmed that it will conduct a review of what happened.

“Hockey PEI has a zero tolerance policy for racism, and the comments that were made on December 17 have no place in hockey or in our community,” the league said in its statement.

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

By Michael MacDonald in Halifax

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