A junior hockey player in Prince Edward Island who criticized officials on social media for their response to a racial slur aimed at his teammate has now been indefinitely suspended by the league.
Keegan Mitchell shared a letter he received Thursday from Hockey P.E.I. notifying him of the suspension for violating the league’s social media policy by publicly criticizing officials and Hockey P.E.I. and making reference to a player on the rival Kensington Vipers.
Mitchell, 20, says that during a Dec. 17 Junior B league game, a player on the Vipers made an anti-Asian comment toward one of Mitchell’s Sherwood Metros teammates.
Later in the game, Mitchell confronted the offending player, slashing him in the legs and earning a two-game suspension.
Hockey P.E.I. did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but its executive director told CBC News the Vipers player received a two-game suspension for the offensive comment.
In a Jan. 5 Facebook post, Mitchell called Hockey P.E.I.’s response to the incident “disgraceful,” adding that the Vipers player’s actions deserved a stiffer penalty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2022.