Sports
Canada's Jacob Panetta suspended by ECHL, cut from team for apparent racist gesture – CBC Sports
Warning: Content may distress some readers
The ECHL acted swiftly on Sunday, suspending defenceman Jacob Panetta indefinitely pending a hearing, for an apparent racial gesture toward opponent and fellow Canadian Jordan Subban of South Carolina Stingrays during Saturday night’s game.
Jacksonville Icemen later released Panetta, a 26-year-old from Belleville, Ont., who was in his second season with the team.
“To be clear, our core values as an ownership group include … zero tolerance for racism or any other forms of hate against any group,” Icemen chief executive officer Andy Kaufmann said in a statement. “We apologize to anyone who was offended and look forward to beginning the process of healing together as one.”
<a href=”https://t.co/uEjbXqfsDO”>pic.twitter.com/uEjbXqfsDO</a>
—@JaxIcemen
Video of the incident 23 seconds into overtime in the Florida city shows Panetta appearing to raise his arms toward his side while looking at Subban, also a defenceman and a Toronto native.
According to the Florida-Times Union newspaper in Jacksonville, the game report indicates the officiating crew assessed two game misconduct penalties to Panetta for continuing an altercation and for “inciting,” under ECHL Rule 75.5, which applies to “obscene gestures on the ice or anywhere in the rink before, during or after the game.”
After the game, Subban accused Panetta of making a monkey gesture.
His older brother P.K. Subban, an NHL defenceman with New Jersey Devils, took to Twitter to react to the incident at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
They don’t call the east coast league the jungle because my brother and the other black players are the monkeys! Hey <a href=”https://twitter.com/jacobpanetta?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@jacobpanetta</a> you shouldn’t be so quick delete your Twitter or your Instagram account you will probably be able to play again… that’s what history says but things <a href=”https://t.co/8zOJ9q47pk”>pic.twitter.com/8zOJ9q47pk</a>
—@PKSubban1
are changing. now not just the hockey world knows your true colours… your hometown of Belleville knows, your family, and friends know you’re a fraud ..with everything that has gone on in the past couple years in the world I’ll say with all due respect to everyone who has an
—@PKSubban1
“We all know what’s ok and what’s not,” the elder Subban wrote. “Even your own teammates wanted to see you get your clock cleaned. This happens a lot and it never gets exposed in the lower leagues. One thing that I love about this is Jordan’s teammates standing in there and showing support. Love that.”
Jordan Subban, also 26, further shared some thoughts on social media.
“More like [Panetta] was too much of a coward to fight me and as soon as I began to turn my back he started making monkey gestures at me so I punched him in the face multiple times and he turtled like the coward he is,” Subban
wrote on his Twitter account.
‘Suspend that kid for life’
“When is this ever gonna end … suspend that kid for life,” retired NHL player Georges Laraque, an inspirational figure in the effort to rid hockey of racism, wrote on Twitter Sunday before speaking with CBC News Network.
WATCH | Laraque says the ECHL is under pressure to mete out appropriate punishment:
Jacksonville currently has no Black players on its active roster after goalie Charles Williams was summoned to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League earlier this month.
Statement from South Carolina Stingrays President Rob Concannon, regarding last night’s incident involving Jordan Subban.<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/HockeyIsForEveryone?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#HockeyIsForEveryone</a> <a href=”https://t.co/SQOULichYM”>pic.twitter.com/SQOULichYM</a>
—@SCStingrays
Last September, American defenceman Jalen Smereck was the target of a racist taunt during a Ukrainian Hockey League game last September when an opponent mimed peeling a banana and eating it. Smereck, who is Black, later reached a “mutual agreement” with HC Donbass to terminate his contract, according to the team.
Smereck also shared his thoughts of Saturday’s occurrence on social media.
Jalen Smereck, targeted with a racist taunt in an Ukrainian Hockey League game in 2021, on the Jordan Subban incident (via IG):<br><br>“Just think about how many are happening at the youth level to young kids that we don’t see or ever know about because the game isn’t being recorded.”
—@wyshynski
On Friday, the AHL barred San Jose Barracuda forward Krystof Hrabik for 30 games following a racial gesture toward another player earlier this month.
Earlier in the week, Boston Bruins retired the No. 22 jersey of 86-year-old Fredericton native Willie O’Ree, the first Black player to appear in an NHL game well known for trying to combat racism that still exists in the league.
The ECHL, formerly called the East Coast Hockey League, is a mid-level professional loop comprising 25 American teams and two in Canada — the St. John’s-based Newfoundland Growlers and Trois-Rivières Lions in Quebec.
The longest suspension in Icemen history is 16 games, according to the Times-Union. It was handed to Emerson Clark in January 2020 for physical abuse of an on-ice official.
The Icemen said the organization is co-operating with the ECHL’s review of the incident.
“As an organization, our fans, partners, and sponsors know our core values and we intend to make comments and decisions after completion of league review,” the team said in a statement.
Sports
The Bruins' strengths + vulnerabilities, and the path to a series victory for the Maple Leafs – MLHS Playoff Podcast – Maple Leafs Hot Stove
Founded in 2008, Maple Leafs Hotstove (MLHS) has grown to be the most visited independent team-focused hockey website online (Quantcast).
Independently owned and operated, MLHS provides thorough and wide-ranging content, varying from news, opinion and analysis, to pre-game and long-form game reviews, and a weekly feature piece entitled “Leafs Notebook.”
MLHS has been cited by: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CBC News, USA Today, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, TSN, Sportsnet, Grantland, CTV News, CBSSports, The Globe & Mail, The National Post, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, Global News, Huffington Post, and many more.
Sports
Start time set for Game 1 in Maple Leafs-Bruins playoff series – Toronto Sun
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Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs will be tuning in a little bit later than usual on Saturday night to see the puck drop for Hockey Night in Canada.
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The NHL announced the start times on Thursday for the Eastern Conference playoff matches and the Leafs and Bruins will faceoff at 8 p.m. ET in Boston on Saturday, a bit later than the usual 7 p.m. puck drop for Toronto.
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The game will be broadcast on CBC and Sportsnet in Canada.
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Saturday’s other game will be the New York Islanders taking on the Carolina Hurricanes at 5 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C.
The other Eastern Conference playoff matchups will start Sunday, with the Battle of Florida between the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning going at 12:30 p.m. and the New York Rangers playing Washington Capitals at 3 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.
With several Western Conference teams wrapping up their regular-season slates on Thursday, the remainder of the playoff schedule is yet to set.
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The Maple Leafs also announced Thursday that the tailgate at Maple Leaf Square will open its gates at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Fans must register for a free mobile pass to be admitted to tailgates with passes available only on the Toronto Maple Leafs app and are non-transferable. Passes are available at 1 p.m. ET the day before each confirmed game with each fan permitted up to two passes per game.
Ahead of puck-drop, fans in the Square will be able to enjoy giveaways, special guests, a live DJ and more.
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How the NHL moved the Arizona Coyotes to Salt Lake City – Sportsnet.ca
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