The Ice Hockey community is starting to rally around the black player who was subjected to racial taunts during last weekend game in Canada.
This insensitive incident took place on last Saturday in Quebec’s North American Hockey League game which was played in Saint-Jerome. The black player in question Jonathan Diaby of the Jonquiere Marquis was sent to the penalty box when this incident occurred.
After Jonathan Diaby was sent to the penalty box, an angry racist fan climbed up the glass and started making mocking gestures along with showing Diaby a picture of a monkey on his phone.
The 24 years old player, Diaby told media, “People were yelling at me saying, ‘You Baboon’ along with telling my dad to go back home as if we do not belong in this country.”
The media also reported that father and rest of Diaby family were also harassed in the stands.
Diaby said, “Security also did nothing to stop all this. They only asked my family to leave the place. They even went on to say to my family to move their seats so they could have a quiet game.”
The behavior from fans was also heavily condemned by the Montreal Canadians.
The team condemned the incident in their team’s tweet as follows, “The Montreal Canadiens condemn any behavior that targets any player, coach, official or fan based upon race, creed or sexual orientation and mandates the immediate ejection of any person who commits such acts at our venues. All hockey programs should provide a safe, positive and inclusive environment for players and families regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.”
Georges Laraque, a Retired NHL player, told media that he talked to Diaby about this. He said, “I also happened to have lived through something like this 30 years ago. You would think that the mentality of people after 30 years would have changed but what I saw in the video and what I heard was even more troubling and worse.”
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