Hockey world condemns racist taunt in Ukraine league
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Calls for a stiffer punishment for the player who directed a racist gesture toward a Black defenseman during a Ukrainian Hockey League game have reverberated around the sport, with some calling the sanction an embarrassment.
HC Kremenchuk forward Andriy Deniskin was suspended for 13 games by the UHL after he taunted HC Donbass defenseman Jalen Smereck, the only American player in the eight-team league, during a match when he mimed peeling and eating a banana.
The Hockey Diversity Alliance, formed in 2020 by nine current and former National Hockey League (NHL) players with a mission to eradicate racism and intolerance in hockey, said they have been in touch with Smereck.
"The hockey community rallies around him and this is just another example showcasing how hockey is NOT for everyone." the organization wrote on Twitter. "The higher-ups must stand up and make the right decision. They set an example for everyone."
Smereck did not immediately reply to a request from Reuters for an interview but said on Instagram he will not play another game in the UHL unless Deniskin is removed from the league, which is made up mostly of Ukrainian and Russian players.
