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Halifax Hawks goalie Mark Connors said
he was called racist slurs on multiple occasions while playing in a
tournament on Prince Edward Island in Canada last month.
Connors, who is Black, told CBC News on
Wednesday he was playing for the Hawks’ U18 AA team in the Falcons
Early Bird Tournament when he heard spectators using the N-word.
“Some of the younger kids in the
stands were calling me a racial slur, one guy said Halifax has a
n—-r for a goalie,” Connors said. “In the third period
they kept on talking, saying n–, n–, n–.”
The 16-year-old netminder said he was
subjected to further racist abuse later in the event, which ran from Nov. 18 through Nov. 21, while he was interacting with players from another team at the hotel.
“When I walked by them they said,
‘You shouldn’t be playing hockey, this is a white man’s sport,'”
Connors told CBC.
The latter incident was reported to
hotel staff, who called police. It was investigated as a “noise
complaint.”
Hockey PEI, the governing body of
the sport on the island, is investigating Connors’
allegations.
“This process will be thorough and
may take some time due to the complex nature,” executive
director Connor Cameron told CBC via email. “We have no further comment
until the investigation has been completed.”
In 2018, the Connors family came
forward detailing six years of racist abuse Mark had suffered while
working his way through the youth hockey system in Canada. The
decision was sparked by an opposing player calling him the N-word
after he made a save on a breakaway. That player received a 45-day
suspension.
Spiro Bokolas, president of the Hawks
minor hockey, said the organization will no longer allow its teams to
play in tournaments on Prince Edward Island until the racism
allegations are addressed.
“We are disgusted by the racist
actions of players and parents during a game that all have a right to
enjoy,” Bokolas told CBC. “I am sick to my stomach just
thinking about it and will continue to follow up with Hockey PEI and
Hockey Nova Scotia to see that this gets addressed appropriately.”
TasaMinorHockey @TasaMinorHockey
TASA condemns racism in all forms everywhere. TASA Minor Hockey supports <a href=”https://twitter.com/hfxhawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@hfxhawks</a> and all others in a stance against racism. We hear hockey is for everyone. Hockey cannot be for everyone when some are excluded covertly or explicitly. We cannot be silent when racism is present.
The Hawks’ U18 AA team is next
scheduled to play Monday night when they host TASA, a fellow Nova Scotian club.
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