Racism In Hockey

[OHLFan90]

This is a topic that Josh Brown of the record spoke about this morning. We've had good conversations about it in the Soo and Rangers forum but feels it needs to be its on thread. Racist fans exist everywhere and not just in the Soo. Don't think its fair that they are the target when its happened in other places.

As a black man, I have been the target of racism before and it sucks.


Here is the article. I just hope that fans can be better. No room anywhere for racism.



Racism at the rink

Click to read more...

 

[robertmac43]

Glad to see someone posted about this, i was going to if it had not shown up on the board.

This kind of stuff should not be an issue anymore, it makes me sad that this is even a story.

It is time for the OHL and us as fans to have a serious talk about these issues, as there is no place for then in junior hockey or the world in general

 

[OHLFan90]

It's been a bit over 24 hours since the article was posted.

Soo fans (Some) have taken offence.

I just wish we could all see the message the article contains and not just the small facts.

Racism in the arena still exists.


Soo fans are great and their fan base shouldn't be judged off 10-15 idiots yelling and screaming hateful things at the players.

That's why i feel this deserves its own forums.

Not all Soo fans are racist. Not all Sarnia fans are racists.

To share my stories for those thinking this is a one time thing.


Back in 2012, I went to a playoff game in Owen Sound. Owen Sound had won the game and me and a buddy where walking back to the fan bus when some drunk idiot stood up and told me to go back to where im from and proceeded to call me a Ni**er. His friends did nothing but laugh.

Back in 2015 I wrote an article for OTSN about a team called the Cullitons and a few fans sent me and my wife threats and one even posted a very racist hateful remark. I stopped writing 2 months later. I loved it and someone took that platform away from me.

For those who want to know what its like, I went into a deep depression the 2nd time around. That's 2 times 2 many. It's not funny. It's not a joke.

All i want to do is provide a little education on the topic but few people are trying to sweep this under the rug. People pulling, well this is a sports forum or one person even responded back to one of my posts about racism in sports with this- Sounds like you belong on ESPN where the have mixed Leftwing Politics with Trump bashing.And they have lost over a million subribers since . Keep Sports seperate from Social Justice Warriors.

Stuff like that isn't funny. If race issues happen in sports, something needs to change. There is a conversation to be had.


We all love our teams, and love our players. We as fans should be able to cheer and boo someone. Thats our rights. We should be able to also not say hateful things. If you are that invested in the game that you feel the need to throw race into the picture, please stop going to arenas and get help.

Also we as fans should not just sit ideally by if this is going on. We can't beat up every a$$ is the world but we can do our parts to make sure hate like this doesn't go unnoticed.

Race isn't a joke.


Let's all be better. I shouldn't have to walk into an arena wondering if I am going to be racially targeted again and neither should the players.

 

[Ward Cornell]

It's been a bit over 24 hours since the article was posted.

Soo fans (Some) have taken offence.

I just wish we could all see the message the article contains and not just the small facts.

Racism in the arena still exists.


Soo fans are great and their fan base shouldn't be judged off 10-15 idiots yelling and screaming hateful things at the players.

That's why i feel this deserves its own forums.

Not all Soo fans are racist. Not all Sarnia fans are racists.

To share my stories for those thinking this is a one time thing.


Back in 2012, I went to a playoff game in Owen Sound. Owen Sound had won the game and me and a buddy where walking back to the fan bus when some drunk idiot stood up and told me to go back to where im from and proceeded to call me a Ni**er. His friends did nothing but laugh.

Back in 2015 I wrote an article for OTSN about a team called the Cullitons and a few fans sent me and my wife threats and one even posted a very racist hateful remark. I stopped writing 2 months later. I loved it and someone took that platform away from me.

For those who want to know what its like, I went into a deep depression the 2nd time around. That's 2 times 2 many. It's not funny. It's not a joke.

All i want to do is provide a little education on the topic but few people are trying to sweep this under the rug. People pulling, well this is a sports forum or one person even responded back to one of my posts about racism in sports with this- Sounds like you belong on ESPN where the have mixed Leftwing Politics with Trump bashing.And they have lost over a million subribers since . Keep Sports seperate from Social Justice Warriors.

Stuff like that isn't funny. If race issues happen in sports, something needs to change. There is a conversation to be had.


We all love our teams, and love our players. We as fans should be able to cheer and boo someone. Thats our rights. We should be able to also not say hateful things. If you are that invested in the game that you feel the need to throw race into the picture, please stop going to arenas and get help.

Also we as fans should not just sit ideally by if this is going on. We can't beat up every a$$ is the world but we can do our parts to make sure hate like this doesn't go unnoticed.

Race isn't a joke.


Let's all be better. I shouldn't have to walk into an arena wondering if I am going to be racially targeted again and neither should the players.

Well said!
and just for the record there's no doubt that 99.9% of people would have your back.
The DQ Eastwood Plaza about 1977, we were in there enjoying a cone after dark when a person came in carrying some sort of bat and was uttering threats to an East Indian behind the counter. Before that guy could utter another sentence there was about 10 of us that stood up and took charge of the situation and removed the guy from the premise.
It may not be much consolance to anyone who lives racism probably every day but there is a whole lot of incredible people who are not racist and and are equally abhorred by it!

 

[Fischhaber]

It's been a bit over 24 hours since the article was posted.

Soo fans (Some) have taken offence.

I just wish we could all see the message the article contains and not just the small facts.

Racism in the arena still exists.


Soo fans are great and their fan base shouldn't be judged off 10-15 idiots yelling and screaming hateful things at the players.

That's why i feel this deserves its own forums.

Not all Soo fans are racist. Not all Sarnia fans are racists.

To share my stories for those thinking this is a one time thing.


Back in 2012, I went to a playoff game in Owen Sound. Owen Sound had won the game and me and a buddy where walking back to the fan bus when some drunk idiot stood up and told me to go back to where im from and proceeded to call me a Ni**er. His friends did nothing but laugh.

Back in 2015 I wrote an article for OTSN about a team called the Cullitons and a few fans sent me and my wife threats and one even posted a very racist hateful remark. I stopped writing 2 months later. I loved it and someone took that platform away from me.

For those who want to know what its like, I went into a deep depression the 2nd time around. That's 2 times 2 many. It's not funny. It's not a joke.

All i want to do is provide a little education on the topic but few people are trying to sweep this under the rug. People pulling, well this is a sports forum or one person even responded back to one of my posts about racism in sports with this- Sounds like you belong on ESPN where the have mixed Leftwing Politics with Trump bashing.And they have lost over a million subribers since . Keep Sports seperate from Social Justice Warriors.

Stuff like that isn't funny. If race issues happen in sports, something needs to change. There is a conversation to be had.


We all love our teams, and love our players. We as fans should be able to cheer and boo someone. Thats our rights. We should be able to also not say hateful things. If you are that invested in the game that you feel the need to throw race into the picture, please stop going to arenas and get help.

Also we as fans should not just sit ideally by if this is going on. We can't beat up every a$$ is the world but we can do our parts to make sure hate like this doesn't go unnoticed.

Race isn't a joke.


Let's all be better. I shouldn't have to walk into an arena wondering if I am going to be racially targeted again and neither should the players.

You're really out of line saying that 10-15 people were yelling racist remarks at the game. Casually throwing about accusations without a shred of proof is not acceptable.

I sat near the Kitchener bench during game 5 and nothing of the sort was said in earshot of the Rangers bench. Words like 'coward' are not racially charged, given that he played the role of a coward on the ice very well as well as any player that I've seen.

That's not to say that Hounds fans didn't make comments on the internet or outside of the arena, but it didn't happen at the game itself and your spreading of misinformation does nothing to help this situation.

 

[EvenSteven]

You keep referring to Smith as a coward.

What exactly were the cowardly acts that Smith did? Bumping your goalie? Many would say that bumping a goalie is anything but cowardly considering the fact that one of the results of doing so is having to defend yourself with the gloves off. Of course, on that play, once Timmins realized he may have to fight Smith, his true bravery showed through.

You say Smith cross checked someone from behind. Very well. A ton of players do the same and aren't roasted on these boards over and over and being labeled cowards. At the end of one of the games in Kitchener, game three or four, with about two minutes left, a Soo player cross checked Logan Brown, while he was already vulnerable on his knees, face first into the boards from behind. I don't remember a whole lot of people coming on here ripping him for being a coward. But what people did complain about was the official that didn't make the call who was standing right there.

Givani Smith was the most feared physical player in that series versus the Soo. He was so feared that the Soo management tripped over themselves after every game looking for reasons to have him suspended so they wouldn't have to play against him.

The last thing Smith can be labelled as is a coward.

 

[Fischhaber]

EvenSteven, please don't derail a positive conversation about racism with your personal agenda.

Several years of predatory plays on unsuspecting players (either from behind or after the whistle) is what I and most others would consider cowardly.

You disagree and think that those plays are neutral or brave. Our opinions don't matter for the purposes of this conversation.

The main point here is that critical comments of Smith aren't necessarily racist. The questionable way in which he conducts himself opens himself to plenty of legitimate criticism.

The non-hockey related comments are really what should be at issue here. I hope you'll comment on that instead of pushing your agenda any further. Show some respect.

 

[EvenSteven]

EvenSteven, please don't derail a positive conversation about racism with your personal agenda.

Several years of predatory plays on unsuspecting players (either from behind or after the whistle) is what I and most others would consider cowardly.

You disagree and think that those plays are neutral or brave. Our opinions don't matter for the purposes of this conversation.

The main point here is that critical comments of Smith aren't necessarily racist. The questionable way in which he conducts himself opens himself to plenty of legitimate criticism.

The non-hockey related comments are really what should be at issue here. I hope you'll comment on that instead of pushing your agenda any further. Show some respect.

You came on this thread to further your agenda of pushing your opinion that Smith is a coward. You lead off denying the racial accusations from the Soo fans around the Ranger bench and that's fine but couldn't help yourself revisiting the coward stuff again.

This thread was started to talk racism in hockey/sports because people on the Soo forum complained that that topic didn't belong there because on ice hockey was more important and desirable to talk about. Perhaps you could leave the coward talk on the hockey threads and keep it off this thread.

 

[OHLFan90]

You're really out of line saying that 10-15 people were yelling racist remarks at the game. Casually throwing about accusations without a shred of proof is not acceptable.

I sat near the Kitchener bench during game 5 and nothing of the sort was said in earshot of the Rangers bench. Words like 'coward' are not racially charged, given that he played the role of a coward on the ice very well as well as any player that I've seen.

That's not to say that Hounds fans didn't make comments on the internet or outside of the arena, but it didn't happen at the game itself and your spreading of misinformation does nothing to help this situation.

I mean, I'm not out of line though. You're really missing the point.

I used 10-15 people because it represents a near invisible percentage of a teams fan base. But between messages received and hate he received in person, i'd be willing to bet it was closer to 10-15 then 0.


But again your missing the point of all this. I'm trying to just help people with the understanding but of course people like you have to jump in just to prove some extremely small point instead of the bigger picture.

Do I hate proof that it was 10-15 people? No. Does it still make anything that happened right? Not even close but you focus on that really small number.

Someone was racially targeted. I came here to share my experiences with my racism and how it's happened around the game and you are more worried about the near invisible percentage then someone like me being able to watch a hockey game with out being hated on because of the color of my skin or where I came from.

The simple fact that you are more worried about the number and not the fact that it happened is quite disturbing for me. Like you deliberately came onto this thread to make me look like the bad guy while all I am trying to do is hope that there can be some positives out of this. That one day we can all just sit in an arena and watch a game and never have to worry about something like this happening to us or our loved ones. Hockey is supposed to be a safe space and to some people that was violated. But you focus on that tiny tiny tiny number.


I am just trying to defuse hate, educate and help some people who don't know understand better. Creating this thread was peaceful but there's always a hero pointing to a pimple on a super model.

Some of us, actually have a fear that it may happen again. Especially me with a 4 month old daughter. I don't need something like this happening to her.

 

[battfan888]

I watched Smith play in Guelph for 3 years so I think I've got a good grasp at how he plays. Believe me this isn't looking through crimson glasses either as many nights he had me pulling my hair out.

Coward I don't think so, he was a dink out there a lot totally. Many nights he did stupid things but I don't even remember him running from a fight or doing something that could be described as cowardly.
Also predatory hits? I don't remember that happening a whole lot either. Again a player that walked that tightrope between an effective scorer and a guy who took dumb penalties that hurt the team.
I don't ever remember him going out there going for guys heads or hitting from behind.

Now for the way more serious topic.....

Ok you didn't hear any sitting by the bench. But then casually say sure it could have happened elsewhere but not the bench then you freak on Seb for spreading mis information. What does it matter where the comments were directed at Smith, on the ice or off it doesn't matter because it shouldn't happen period.

 

[Leafs Fan 12]

You're really out of line saying that 10-15 people were yelling racist remarks at the game. Casually throwing about accusations without a shred of proof is not acceptable.

I sat near the Kitchener bench during game 5 and nothing of the sort was said in earshot of the Rangers bench. Words like 'coward' are not racially charged, given that he played the role of a coward on the ice very well as well as any player that I've seen.

That's not to say that Hounds fans didn't make comments on the internet or outside of the arena, but it didn't happen at the game itself and your spreading of misinformation does nothing to help this situation.

Your claim that there were no racist remarks at the game itself is no different than the claim your refuting. In reality you have no shred of evidence to support your claim that there were no remarks other than there were none made in your section. Unless your section is the whole arena, you have no evidence for this.

And I'm not saying there were any remarks made at the game it is just that none of us know for sure if there were remarks made or not.

 

[Marj44]

Backed by OHL, Greyhounds deny racial slurs

I’m glad to see that the Rangers Organization, Greyhounds Organization and the League all agreed and confirmed that there was never an issue or allegation of anything racist coming from any member of the Greyhounds Organization in game or online. They’re a classy organization and I knew they wouldn’t not have done or tolerated that.

However, shame to those who messaged Givani on social media. Not only the racist remakes he got but the physics threats as well. Unacceptable. I don’t know who it was, I don’t know where they live or who they cheer for, but shame on that/those individual(s).

 

[OHLFan90]

Backed by OHL, Greyhounds deny racial slurs

I’m glad to see that the Rangers Organization, Greyhounds Organization and the League all agreed and confirmed that there was never an issue or allegation of anything racist coming from any member of the Greyhounds Organization in game or online. They’re a classy organization and I knew they wouldn’t not have done or tolerated that.

However, shame to those who messaged Givani on social media. Not only the racist remakes he got but the physics threats as well. Unacceptable. I don’t know who it was, I don’t know where they live or who they cheer for, but shame on that/those individual(s).

I believe it. I have to think a coach or any member of the organization would never do that. With all the eyes that are on them.

 

[Purple Phart]

Years ago, a major US network ( the exact one escapes me ) had a commentator for NFL football. His on-air personna was "Jimmy the Greek" and his forte was picking which teams would win on the Sunday NFL schedule. As part of a round table discussion, the topic came up as to just why black athletes excelled in professional sports.
This Jimmy the Greek character ventured an opinion that black athletes owed a certain amount of their physical prowess due to the history of slavery in the USA. Slaves were "selectively bred" by the plantation owners to produce stronger males who could work harder and longer. It was this practice, over several generations, that produced stronger black men, and the athletes later became the beneficiaries of that slavery background. His expressed viewpoint was immediately called out as being racist, and Jimmy the Greek was quickly terminated.
While the slavery background might have been repugnant and offensive, there is some scientific basis in the opinion that this commentator expressed. A geneticist might very well agree that there is some merit to his opinion, but it was sumarrily dismissed as being racist.

 

[Fischhaber]

I mean, I'm not out of line though. You're really missing the point.

I used 10-15 people because it represents a near invisible percentage of a teams fan base. But between messages received and hate he received in person, i'd be willing to bet it was closer to 10-15 then 0.


But again your missing the point of all this. I'm trying to just help people with the understanding but of course people like you have to jump in just to prove some extremely small point instead of the bigger picture.

Do I hate proof that it was 10-15 people? No. Does it still make anything that happened right? Not even close but you focus on that really small number.

Someone was racially targeted. I came here to share my experiences with my racism and how it's happened around the game and you are more worried about the near invisible percentage then someone like me being able to watch a hockey game with out being hated on because of the color of my skin or where I came from.

The simple fact that you are more worried about the number and not the fact that it happened is quite disturbing for me. Like you deliberately came onto this thread to make me look like the bad guy while all I am trying to do is hope that there can be some positives out of this. That one day we can all just sit in an arena and watch a game and never have to worry about something like this happening to us or our loved ones. Hockey is supposed to be a safe space and to some people that was violated. But you focus on that tiny tiny tiny number.


I am just trying to defuse hate, educate and help some people who don't know understand better. Creating this thread was peaceful but there's always a hero pointing to a pimple on a super model.

Some of us, actually have a fear that it may happen again. Especially me with a 4 month old daughter. I don't need something like this happening to her.

You are absolutely out of line, 100% without question.

Go ahead and share your experiences with racism. I like to see people do that, as it helps the situation.

Don't casually accuse people of being racist or saying racist things without a shred of proof. That's no small accusation and you were wrong to make it. I don't expect an apology, but at least recognize what you did wrong.

Make your big picture point without accusing a group of people for no particular reason an I'll have a more constructive comment. I think that's fair.

In addition, if you think I don't care about the issue then you are mistaken. I've already commented about how much the issue troubled me in another thread.

 

[Mach85]

You are absolutely out of line, 100% without question.

Go ahead and share your experiences with racism. I like to see people do that, as it helps the situation.

Don't casually accuse people of being racist or saying racist things without a shred of proof. That's no small accusation and you were wrong to make it. I don't expect an apology, but at least recognize what you did wrong.

Make your big picture point without accusing a group of people for no particular reason an I'll have a more constructive comment. I think that's fair.

In addition, if you think I don't care about the issue then you are mistaken. I've already commented about how much the issue troubled me in another thread.

I've been refraining from entering this fray because other people have been putting things so well in the Rangers' thread. But I can't stay silent here. Seb's post was spot-on; and the fact that you keep focusing on an insignificant part of his post, and willfully detracting from the important narrative here, the one that this thread was created to discuss, is absolutely appalling. I say that without hyperbole. A black man has shown the courage to repeatedly share his own experiences with racism, and attempt to give a glimpse into the kinds of things that Givani Smith was experiencing, and you refuse to even read his words.

That refusal is obvious because you're twisting his intention, even after he clarified it for you. He threw out the 10-15 number to show that it wasn't one person who said something unacceptable to Givani (which is confirmed in news articles, so this is fact, that it was more than one), but that it wasn't the entire fan base. He used that number to not minimize the situation, but also to not alienate the good people among the Soo fanbase. That's admirable. And you're shitting all over him. You should be ashamed. Asking for an apology? You have to be kidding. This painting yourself as some sort of victim here shows an incredible lack of insight. Seb is not "casually accusing" anyone of anything. Unless you can point me toward people he has personally identified? THAT would be causing harm, if he had accused identifiable people with no evidence. That has not been done. He was clearly throwing out a random number to make a point, which he clarified to you in a response, and you doubled down like you hadn't even read his reply. Yet you expect him to read and respond to yours.

Lastly, you say you would reply with a constructive response if you were given the material to. Seb and others have given plenty of constructive material to make this a rich discussion, but you're inexplicably chastising a guy who's shown a lot of character here for no discernable reason. That makes the reasonable conclusion that you're either incapable of a constructive response on this matter, or not interested in providing one. Now, this is a public message board so I'm under no illusions here with what I'm about to say, but if you're going to insist on continuing to pursue this illogical point of contention with Seb, I think most will agree that your "insights" are not welcome here. You're merely being antagonizing.

 

[Fischhaber]

I've been refraining from entering this fray because other people have been putting things so well in the Rangers' thread. But I can't stay silent here. Seb's post was spot-on; and the fact that you keep focusing on an insignificant part of his post, and willfully detracting from the important narrative here, the one that this thread was created to discuss, is absolutely appalling. I say that without hyperbole. A black man has shown the courage to repeatedly share his own experiences with racism, and attempt to give a glimpse into the kinds of things that Givani Smith was experiencing, and you refuse to even read his words.

That refusal is obvious because you're twisting his intention, even after he clarified it for you. He threw out the 10-15 number to show that it wasn't one person who said something unacceptable to Givani (which is confirmed in news articles, so this is fact, that it was more than one), but that it wasn't the entire fan base. He used that number to not minimize the situation, but also to not alienate the good people among the Soo fanbase. That's admirable. And you're ****ting all over him. You should be ashamed. Asking for an apology? You have to be kidding. This painting yourself as some sort of victim here shows an incredible lack of insight. Seb is not "casually accusing" anyone of anything. Unless you can point me toward people he has personally identified? THAT would be causing harm, if he had accused identifiable people with no evidence. That has not been done. He was clearly throwing out a random number to make a point, which he clarified to you in a response, and you doubled down like you hadn't even read his reply. Yet you expect him to read and respond to yours.

Lastly, you say you would reply with a constructive response if you were given the material to. Seb and others have given plenty of constructive material to make this a rich discussion, but you're inexplicably chastising a guy who's shown a lot of character here for no discernable reason. That makes the reasonable conclusion that you're either incapable of a constructive response on this matter, or not interested in providing one. Now, this is a public message board so I'm under no illusions here with what I'm about to say, but if you're going to insist on continuing to pursue this illogical point of contention with Seb, I think most will agree that your "insights" are not welcome here. You're merely being antagonizing.

It's unfortunate that you took all of the time to respond to something that you didn't read. You simply twisted my words to fit what you wanted to say.

Bottom line is that I'm happy that a positive discussion is taking place.

Seb went out of his way to "choose" a number of racists that he wanted to accuse. That's a serious accusation. Was he even at the game in the vicinity of the bench?

Have this discussion without throwing labels on people and intentionally making it antagonistic.

Let's discuss why these things happen in sports. Let's discuss real things that have happened to people instead of speculating. That's a better way to go about it in my opinion.

 

[kabidjan18]

A serious question for Seb. What legal measures have you taken to ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice? The Ontario Human Rights Code is explicit, and I believe favorable, on this matter. You should be able to reach justice through due process in the situations you describe.

 

[Marj44]

I think we can agree that regardless if it was 1-2-5-10-20 that’s not the point. As mentioned, the original poster never singled anyone out, just threw out a number. There’s no need to argue over a number, that’s not the point of this thread.

Point is here that there was an incident. Things were said that are never okay to say. I don’t know how Givani felt and I could never understand but I’d imagine how degrading and tough that is.
Hopefully there’s some way Smith could bring the account to the police that sent him the pm. Hopefully any social media account that did this gets investigated.

I have no problem with calling out everyone who did that. I personally don’t care if you suggest it’s 1-2-5-10-20 people. We know it’s not anyone within the greyhounds organization (article), and that’s a relief, so as long as we’re not going to accused innocent staff or players of SSM, then go get those disgraceful “humans”.

 

[rangersblues]

I think we can agree that regardless if it was 1-2-5-10-20 that’s not the point. As mentioned, the original poster never singled anyone out, just threw out a number. There’s no need to argue over a number, that’s not the point of this thread.

Point is here that there was an incident. Things were said that are never okay to say. I don’t know how Givani felt and I could never understand but I’d imagine how degrading and tough that is.
Hopefully there’s some way Smith could bring the account to the police that sent him the pm. Hopefully any social media account that did this gets investigated.

I have no problem with calling out everyone who did that. I personally don’t care if you suggest it’s 1-2-5-10-20 people. We know it’s not anyone within the greyhounds organization (article), and that’s a relief, so as long as we’re not going to accused innocent staff or players of SSM, then go get those disgraceful “humans”.

I am ok with everything you said as long as a thorough and if necessary independent investigation was done about any complaints that were filed. That means interviewing any possible witnesses of complaints and not simply asking the accused "did you say anything racist." If this was allowed to fester as long as claimed, Branch and the league could be complicit for not addressing the situation in a timely manner and should not be allowed to investigate themselves.

 

[bobber]

Tweet by Kevin Weeks:
I played in the @OHLHockey 24 years ago. Jamie Storr & I were the only visible minority Goalie duo to make the @NHL .We’re friends to this day - and unfortunately some of the same needless hurtful reminders come to light here. Time for @NHL ,all Leagues & Law Enforcement to act.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Tweet by Kevin Weeks:
I played in the @OHLHockey 24 years ago. Jamie Storr & I were the only visible minority Goalie duo to make the @NHL .We’re friends to this day - and unfortunately some of the same needless hurtful reminders come to light here. Time for @NHL ,all Leagues & Law Enforcement to act.

To be honest I never even knew Jamie Storr was a visible minority!

 

[bobber]

These are the words of Josh Brown from his article that sparked a lot of discussion:
"The incident sparked a series of racially charged comments on social media. Some called the Toronto native a "coward" and a "douche bag" while others stooped lower".
Brown is making a point here that the use of many words directed at a player can be a form of racism. 99 percent of the people that use social media to call someone a coward or douche bag would crap their pants if they met that person and were asked to say it to there face.
I applaud Seb for starting this post. I have bantered back and forth with Seb on this forum and met him recently at the Gold Cup. There is no greater fan of the game than this young man. He will travel anywhere to watch a hockey game. I feel for him having hurtful racist things flung at him by ignorant people that I would refuse to call real fans of hockey. Real fans go to watch hockey for the love of the game. There are people in every rink at all levels of hockey that actually go these to put themselves on display by hurling insults at refs and players to draw attention to themselves.
There is no one town or city in Canada that is immune to racist or folks that use racist comments.
Racism is often disguise by people with racist tendencies in other forms.
As an example Quarterback Colin Kaepernick was called a "son of a bitch" by the President of the United States. Most of these racist comments are derived out of fear by certain people and in this case it was the fear that this "not kneeling" could start a whole movement for the rights of a minority.
In all this Smitty has not said a word. He always has a smile on his face. This player was raised to be a gentle person off the ice and has excellent morals. For anyone to disparage him or any other young player the way he has been is utterly disgusting and immoral.
Kevin Weeks is right. These people should be brought to justice. The league's weak investigation of what happened to Smitty looks to me like they want it to go away as quickly as possible but that is just my opinion.
There is no defending the treatment of Smitty. It is appalling that he had to have a police escort in the Soo and was threatened. The refs calls a 2 minute penalty for running a goalie or a cross check and here we have a player basically criminalized.

 

[bobber]

To be honest I never even knew Jamie Storr was a visible minority!

Me either. I love that Kevin Weeks tweeted that comment because it backs up every thing being said in this regard.

 

[Purple Phart]

For those who might be interested, there's a current movie that touches on the subject of racism in hockey. The executive producer of the movie is none other than Clint Eastwood, and the movie is "Indian Horse". It chronicals the struggles of a talented young First Nation person to make a Major Jr. A team back in the '60's and the effect of coming from a residential school background has on this individual's performance. The movie is based on a book written by Richard Wagamese whose
heritage is Ojibway.