Black hockey player assaulted by teammate who reenacted George Floyd’s attack!

I cannot believe we are still reporting disturbing news like this in 2023. According to Justine Mercier of Le Droit, a Black hockey player on a U15 AAA team in Gatineau, Quebec, Intrépide de l’Outaouais, was allegedly forced to the ground by a teammate who pressed their knee on the player’s neck during the 2021-22 season.

The allegations report that the victim was only released after repeating the final words of George Floyd, who was murdered by Minneapolis police in 2020. The incident took place in the team’s dressing room and was detailed in a Hockey Quebec investigation report. Mercier obtained the documents and has made in public on Friday morning. TSN’s Rick Westhead tweeted out the translated details:

“The report documented at least 14 instances of “racist gestures and remarks” by six players and criticized both the hockey organization and the team’s head coach, who continues to coach minor hockey.

The report noted two Black players have since left the team.”

The horrible scene was reenacted to humiliate the hockey player, who was already a victim of racial slurs and kept having to listened to slave references by some of his teammates.

When it comes to the horrible reenactment of the Floyd attack, the victim said that after being thrown to the ground, he felt the weight of his teammate’s knee pressed on his neck “for about 15 seconds”. Despite the attempts made by the victim to signal it needed to stop, the teammate insisted that he says “I can’t breathe”. “It was only following the mention of these words” that the player was released, the report states. More than 14 “racist gestures and remarks” have been noted in the investigation and lawyer Jules Bernier indicates that the events “occurred on several occasions in the locker room, on the ice and at school”.

This is unacceptable. As anyone remotely aware of current events knows, the world changed in an instant with the video of a white police officer nonchalantly suffocating George Floyd to death on a street corner in front of shocked onlookers begging him to stop.

But clearly more change is needed and therefore I believe severe punishment should be handed out in order to prevent other incidents like this.

Not only in hockey!

I am sure the investigation will be made public on other platforms in order to get significant changes in all leagues.

Recommended articles:

• Wayne Simmonds fires back hard at Steve Simmons.
• Coach Berube opens media availability with a statement regarding Nazem Kadri
• Rumor: Nazem Kadri victim of racism/threats after collision of Binnington.
• ECHL welcomes back Jacob Panetta despite accusations of racism from Subban.
• Jacob Panetta's teammates come to his defense over accusations of racism.