QMI Agency
The governing body for minor hockey in Ontario needs to have the guts to take a stand against racism, says a local house league coach who was suspended for the rest of the season for pulling his team from a game after a racial slur was hurled at one of his players.
Greg Walsh learned on Thursday that the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) had suspended him until April 10 for forfeiting a game on Nov. 15 when the player who uttered the racial slur was allowed to return to the ice in the third period.
The player who used the racial slur against one of Walsh's players was later given a three-game suspension.
Walsh compared the punishments.
"In the end, if you want to use the basics, is you have society saying it's only worth three games to hurl a racial slur at a fella... and if you want to stand up against that then you get suspended for the rest of the year," he said on Friday.
Despite the suspension, Walsh said he doesn't regret the actions he and his team took to protest the use of the N-word.
"This is not about one person, or one hockey team, or one guy. It's about that society needs to rid itself of behaviour like this," he said.
Walsh became most animated when he recalled watching McCullum apologize to him on a national news broadcast after the season-ending suspension had been handed down.
"It's absolutely disgusting that he should have to feel any remorse for what happened, and they created it. I'm just defending him," Walsh said.
Ontario Human Rights Commission Barbara Hall voiced her support of Walsh's actions in a letter to The Examiner on Friday.
Walsh bravely defended his player's right not to be the subject of racial slurs and led his team off the ice in protest, Hall states.
"His action was admirable," she states. "But the way he is being treated by the Ontario Minor Hockey Association -- a full-season suspension -- is not. All of us, on and off the ice, should stand up and say no to racist conduct." Sports organizations should be prohibiting, not sanctioning, racist conduct, Hall states. Hall couldn't be reached for an interview.
Walsh was immediately suspended following the game on Nov. 15. The OMHA held a hearing at its offices in Richmond Hill on Dec. 11 and on Thursday it issued its ruling. The incident happened during a game at the Kinsmen arena. The player hurled a racial slur at Andrew McCullum as the two players were in the penalty box after a confrontation on the ice near the end of the second period.
On-ice officials couldn't penalize the player because they didn't hear the slur, the OMHA states in a release issued on Thursday.
Walsh brought it to the attention of the officials and the opposing team's coach, but the player was back on the ice to start the third period. That's when the team forfeited the game in protest.
The coach of the opposing team is John Welsh, the president of the Peterborough Minor Hockey Association (PMHA).
The player who uttered the racial slur, the coach of the opposing team and an assistant coach of the opposing team were given three-game suspensions by the PMHA on Nov. 17. The PMHA is reviewing its internal policies and procedures as a result of the incident, the OMHA states in a release issued on Thursday.
Walsh is being penalized for pulling his team from the game. The PMHA has refused to comment at this time, but the OMHA stated that the PMHA supported Walsh throughout the hearing process. Walsh wouldn't comment on the level of support he has received from the PMHA or on reports that the PMHA lobbied the OMHA to immediately lift Walsh's suspension.
"I have no comment," he said. The OMHA focused on Hockey Canada regulations rather than considering the specifics of the situation, Walsh said. "The OMHA does not want to be involved. They do not want to help. They just want to blame somebody else for the problem. It's a Hockey Canada regulation," he said.
2 comments:
Whoa! Good for him! I think I would have done the same. And also, good for the kid that received the slur not to do something he may regret later.
The OMHA is going about this wrong. Someone stands up to racism and this is how they're treated? Especially a coach whom parents trust their children with.
The coach could've address this differently, yes. And maybe he could've avoided a lengthy suspension. But such a long suspension for not allowing his players to play? I could see something similar to what the other team received but not an entire season. Too much.
Way to take a step back in the fight against racism OMHA...
Just my $.02.
Jason
Looks like the OHMA had a change of heart. His suspension was lifted.
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