Canadian pee wee hockey player suspended for disturbing anti-Semitic and racist threats to teammates
A Canadian pee wee youth hockey player has been suspended by his league for a series of disturbing comments he made at his own teammates, showcasing racism and anti-Semitism during team practices.
As reported by the St. Albert Gazette, an unnamed 11-year-old player for a St. Albert Minor Hockey Association's pee wee squad has been accused by parents of his teammates of targeting a defenseman and calling him an "[expletive] Jew" and going on to tell the player during a bus ride back from an away game that Nazis kills all the Jews.
The player who issued the threat told the Jewish player to go away during practice the following day, threatening to kill him if he did not. According to accusations from other parents, the player in question has also attacked a biracial forward, telling him "Your mom should go back to Africa where she belongs."
"Not only has he made these racial, really anti-Semitic comments to my son, now he's threatening to kill him," the mother of the Jewish player told the Gazette.
"These kids are old enough now that they know that these words are bad and they know what they're doing."
The investigation into the player's comments was triggered when parents for the players contacted the league's pee wee director, asking him to look into the allegations. To his credit, St. Albert Minor Hockey Association president Dave Bell immediately suspended the player accused of the verbal attacks.
"[The league] was notified yesterday afternoon of the incident in question and based on a review of the information we received, the decision was made to suspend the player pending further investigation and a meeting with the parent," he said, adding two league executives will attend the meeting.
Meanwhile, the parents whose sons were the subject of the 11-year-old's hateful language say they want something more significant than a short-term suspension to be handed to the attacking player.
"I never want my son to ever be on his team again. I want this kid punished and held accountable for his actions," the mother of the Jewish player told the Gazette. "What a great opportunity to teach this child some kind of tolerance."
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