A peewee player is retiring his skates for the rest of the season, after his parents pulled him from minor hockey amid allegations of directing racist and anti-Semitic comments at teammates.
The St. Albert Minor Hockey Association suspended the player Nov. 26 pending further investigation into the allegations and a meeting with the player’s parents, which took place last Wednesday.
“Following the (Nov. 28) meeting between two members of (the league’s) executive and the accused player’s parents, the parents have decided that it is in their son’s best interest to remove him from hockey for the balance of the year,” league president Dave Bell said via e-mail.
He did not respond to further questions regarding the role the league played in this decision, saying simply it was the parents’ decision.
Two sets of parents filed complaints with the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association last week after their sons were each targeted by their peewee team’s goalie.
The goalie allegedly called an 11-year-old defenceman a “f***ing Jew” while on a team outing to an Oil Kings’ game Nov. 23, later telling the player that Nazis killed Jews.
The Jewish player’s mother, who is also the team manager, said the goalie told her son to “go away” while at practice Sunday, later threatening to kill him if he didn’t comply.
The same goalie allegedly told an 11-year-old biracial forward earlier this month that his mother “should go back to Africa where she belongs.”
The mother of the Jewish defenceman first learned of the decision about the offending player from a coach of another team. She said the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association didn’t share any information with her.
“I think this is a cop-out,” she said of the punishment. “This kid needs to be educated and possibly see a counsellor to deal with his anger issues.”
The team participated in a tournament over the weekend and she said there was a shift in the dressing room atmosphere.
“The kids had a blast and were able to play and participate without any fear of this boy,” she said.
The father of the biracial forward said his son is “very pleased” that he won’t have to play with this goalie for the rest of the season.
In response to the racist comment, the forward told his father, “It’s a shame people don’t see how beautiful my mom is inside and out rather than just going based on the colour of her skin.”
The father said he is pleased with the decision to remove this child from minor hockey, but would have also liked to see an educational component forced on the player to curb similar behaviour in the future.
“This sort of thing should never be tolerated and I think that this is an excellent opportunity for further discussion, educating all individuals of all ages,” he said, adding he is confident the international exposure the story has received will foster discussion and lead to positive change in minor sports.
