The ugly side of hockey has taken a direct shot at a Canadian NHL superstar.
Montreal Canadiens defenceman, P.K. Subban, was the target of on-line racial slurs after his double-overtime winning goal in Thursday’s game against the Bruins in Boston.
After the game some Bruins fans took to Twitter, calling Subban the “N” word.
One person tweeted “F***ing N***** u shouldn’t even be playing hockey”.
Another wrote, “Can’t believe we let #PKSubban score on us twice. The only thing black that should be on the ice is the puck.”
The Boston Bruins organization reaction was swift. The team’s President Cam Neely issued a statement, “The racist, classless views expressed by an ignorant group of individuals following Thursday's game via digital media are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization."
“You know Jarome is here and he’s been treated with nothing but respect” said Bruins forward Milan Lucic of teammate Jarome Iginla, “if you’re going to make bad comments about a player stick to hockey comments not to stuff that crosses the line.”
Ottawa hockey player Nick Ngwafusi says he’s not surprised by the racist tweets “it came close to home because the year before I dealt with it also.”
Ngwafusi says he’s been called the “N” word on the ice before. He says the slurs in the sport need to end “stooping this low and going racial it’s not one of those things that needs to be in the game.”
Ottawa community advocate Adrienne Coddett says the racist remarks don’t shock her, she says Subban has been a target before.
“I just think twitter is this generation’s version of the same thing that has been experienced before.”
Coddett went on to say “until we’re ready to have authentic conversations about race and racism and who people of colour are in this country and our neighbours to the south, it will not have a solution that we are expecting.”
Twitter has since been flooded with people calling the racist comments a disgrace.
One fan wearing a Bruins jersey tweeted a picture that has since gone viral; of him holding a sign that says “Hey P.K. Subban, Good Game! I’m so sorry for the ignorance from a FEW Bruins “fans”. Good luck in game 2. #StopTheIgnorance”
