Commentators on referee’s Indigenous status reprimanded hockey commentator
After an offensive comment he made on air last Sunday, a junior hockey commentator was relieved from his duties.
The announcer, whose name has not been revealed, had been commentating a game at the Junior B level in the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League between the Eskasoni Junior Eagles — a team owned and operated by First Nation Chief Leroy Denny — and the Pictou County Scotians.
In the third quarter, the Junior Eagles fell behind 2-0. The Junior Eagles fought back and tied the game thanks to Eskasoni taking one penalty and the Scotians taking seven. Unnamed broadcaster said that the parade to the penalty boxes, as self-inflicted it may have been, made him wonder “if…” [the referee] A band card.”
The xenophobic comment that asked if the official were Indigenous and unfairly helped the Eskasoni teams earned swift and vocal criticism. This prompted an internal investigation and eventually the dismissal of the announcer by the Scotians.
Notably, though the Eskasoni Junior Eagles is owned by Leroy Denny the team is comprised of a mix Indigenous and non-Indigenous athletes and coaches, according a report from the CBC.
Denny also spoke in detail about the incident and called the comments shocking.
“(I’m) discouraged and saddened that happened because there’s really no place for this in hockey,” he told CBC. “As our team, we always push inclusiveness all the time.”
This is only one of a number of recent incidents that have raised questions about hockey’s efforts to be more inclusive and whether enough is being done. The incident was not the only one that has been widely reported. involving Ivan Provorov And the New York Rangers Concerning their clubs’ Pride nights, Jagger Joshua and the alleged racial epithet At him.
Denny, who won the Eskasoni game in a shootout with his Eskasoni team, said that despite the discouragement, his team would not allow the distraction to get in the way.
“We will continue to move forward, and we hope that these kinds of things do not happen again.”
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