‘Sincere regret’: Hockey P.E.I. admits to mishandling racist incident at game | Globalnews.ca

The organization that oversees organized hockey in Prince Edward Island has admitted to mishandling its response to a racist act during a game last month.

Hockey P.E.I. issued a statement today saying the penalty imposed on the offending player a two-game suspension was too light, and it repealed the suspension of another player, Keegan Mitchell, who had used social media to criticize officials for their response to the racial slur.

Mitchell says that during a Junior B game on Dec. 17, a player on the opposing Kensington Vipers made an anti-Asian comment toward one of Mitchell’s teammates with the Sherwood Metros.

Later in the game, Mitchell confronted the offending player and slashed him in the legs, a move that earned Mitchell a two-game suspension.

Last week, Mitchell was indefinitely suspended by the league for suggesting online that the Vipers player deserved a stiffer penalty, saying a suspension of just two games for a racist slur was “absolutely disgraceful.”

In its statement today, Hockey P.E.I. said the suspension for the Vipers player would be increased to five games, and it commended Mitchell for “shining a spotlight on our missteps.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2022.