A racism victim from Quebec Receives huge support from AHL
On January 12th, a sad event occurred in the duel between the Tucson Roadrunners and the San Jose Barracuda.
Quebecer Bokondji Imama (Roadrunners) was the victim of a racist gesture from Czech forward Krystof Hrabik (Barracuda). No details about the offense were released.
The AHL announced today that Hrabik will serve a suspension for his action against Imama. All that is known is that the two individuals have been at it all night.
One thing is for sure, the AHL would never have encouraged an attitude as unacceptable as the one Hrabik had.
"The AHL supports Boko Imama. It is unfair that a player can be subject to comments or actions based on his ethnicity; he should be judged solely on his ability to perform on the ice as a player, as a teammate in the locker room and as a member of his community."
The Barracuda organization in no way encourages the actions committed by their player. Quite the contrary.
"While we support the ability of individuals to atone for their mistakes and learn from these incidents, in this context, these actions are in direct opposition to the values of the Barracuda and the Sharks."
Hrabik may appeal his suspension after March 12, depending on his progress as an individual, as he will be closely monitored by the NHL's player inclusion committee.
If it were up to me, the 22-year-old center would serve the entirety of the suspension imposed by the league... After all, we want the message to get through to the AHL side. Will he really have learned a lesson, if he has the opportunity to return before the end of his purgatory? You either punish 100% or you don't, especially for such a serious attitude...
