Former NHLer Bernie Saunders: Why repeat racist offenders should be banned from hockey

Two Black professional hockey players recently were the victims of public racial humiliation. In both cases, the perpetrators – the AHL’s Krystof Hrabik and the ECHL’s Jacob Panetta – allegedly made monkey gestures towards Black players during play. A reporter asked me about these disturbing events and whether I was surprised. My answer was to read page one of my book: Shut Out: The Game That Did Not Love Me Black. I faced the exact same embarrassment on countless occasions in the late 1970s, when I played in the AHL and CHL, and briefly in NHL games with the Quebec Nordiques in 1979-80 and 1980-81.

The fact that these horrific experiences still remain in the game are what inspired me to come out on the subject.

Being reminded of those incidents evoked many emotions, but surprise was not among them. Hockey has a racist history. It was those humiliating experiences that caused me to request a buyout of my NHL contract with a year still remaining. I loved playing hockey, but I hated the game.

Several leagues have responded to the recent spate of racial incidents by mandating diversity training, which I strongly oppose on the simple grounds that it is non-democratic. I applaud the fact that the leagues are trying. But this type of training is also naïve. Do these authorities really think that they are going to change what resides in a man’s heart by mandating a few hours of classroom work going through these binders?

I endorse stern punishment and a two-strike rule following due process. Do it once and expect a long suspension, do it twice and you’re banned from the sport.

As much as I have lost in my life due to the Black experience, I have never wished that I was white. I am proud to be a Black man. Do you understand the amount of grace that it takes to be a member of my race?

Consider these latest hockey events. In the case of Jacob Panetta, the young man claims that he wasn’t making a “monkey gesture” and argues that it was a bodybuilder pose that he does all the time to mock an opponent who won’t fight. I watched Panetta’s video and the young man seemed contrite. Now he could be a great actor, or his emotions could stem from the fact that he is mourning the loss of something that he loves, the ability to play hockey. I also lost the ability to play hockey and I know how much that hurts. It still does.

But I still believe the young man deserves his day in court. Due process in the pursuit of justice is another bedrock principle of our society. Which makes this a great example of why I am so proud to be Black. There are countless examples of Black people not being granted proper justice. I often lay in bed at night thinking of George Floyd lying in that street. Ask him about due process.

Do you understand the amount of forgiveness that it takes to support the idea of due process for Jacob Panetta or anyone else in these situations? That is what many Blacks do. We refuse to be hypocrites. We want the same rights granted to our perpetrators that we were denied on countless occasions when we were the victims.

So no, I am not surprised by recent events. Racism still exists in the game of hockey. But I want to live in a world where the same people who are nodding their heads like a bobblehead doll when I call for proper justice for Jacob Panetta, keep nodding when proper justice is called upon for people of colour.

Bernie Saunders was the fifth Black player in NHL history. He is also the author of the recently published memoir “Shut Out: The Game That Did Not Love Me Black.”