It’s past time for NHL, other hockey leagues to implement a zero-tolerance policy against racism

Hockey leagues have to start taking action against racism.

Editor’s note: This story contains mentions of racism. Please proceed with caution.

Hockey leagues have no excuses anymore; it’s well past time for a zero-tolerance policy against racism.

Late Saturday evening, yet another racist incident occurred in the hockey world. During an ECHL match, Jacksonville Icemen defenseman Jacob Panetta was accused of making a racist gesture towards Jordan Subban of the South Carolina Stingrays. The incident went viral after Subban tweeted that Panetta had made “monkey gestures” at him after an overtime scrum, causing another fight on the ice.

Subban’s brother, New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban, also tweeted about the incident, calling Panetta out. The tweets linked below make mention of racist language — in text and video form — so proceed with caution.

As of Sunday, the Icemen have stated that Panetta has been released from the team, effective immediately, after the ECHL suspended the defenseman indefinitely with a league investigation pending.

Though it took two milquetoast statements from the Icemen — who have yet to apologize to Subban directly, only to “any one who was offended” — it seems Panetta’s time playing hockey in the ECHL is over. And he shouldn’t be the last to get this treatment either.

Hockey leagues must implement a zero-tolerance policy against racism and they must do it now. The racist taunts made against Subban come just one day after the AHL suspended San Jose Barracuda forward Krystof Hrabik 30 days for making a racist gesture against Boko Imama of the Tucson Roadrunners.

All this within the same week the Boston Bruins finally retired the number of Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first black player.

Hockey culture is broken and has been for some time. We’ve been witness to far too many racist incidents over the years, and there are many more we’ll never know of at the lower and youth levels of the sport. The NHL and other hockey leagues continue to fester this toxic culture of racism, sexism, homophobia, and assault as long as the sport allows the culprits to skate away with no consequences.

Which is why the hockey world has to adopt zero-tolerance policies, especially in regards to racism. Nothing the hockey world has done so far, from meager punishments to inclusion seminars, has worked to curb racist words and acts. If the NHL and other hockey leagues want to stomp out racism as much as they claim to, throwing out the racists and locking the doors behind them is the best way to make an impact.

Hockey should not be a space for racists. Period. End of discussion. Second, third, and fourth chances shouldn’t exist for racism this blatant and overt that it was made in a packed stadium of thousands of people. Instituting zero-tolerance policies should be the least the NHL and hockey leagues can do to protect its marginalized players, fans, and staff.

It’s past time the hockey world stopped enabling this behavior and started taking concrete action.