Five PEI minor hockey players suspended 25 games over racial slurs

CHARLOTTETOWN — The governing body for hockey in Prince Edward Island is handing down 25-game suspensions to five players accused of hurling racial slurs toward a Nova Scotia goalie last November.

Mark Connors, a Black 16-year-old goalie for the Halifax Hawks U18 AA team, says a group of teenagers in the stands during a game in the P.E.I. capital uttered racist slurs at him and then did so again later at a hotel.

He said he was repeatedly called the N-word and at the hotel, he was told hockey was a white man's sport.

The five players had been suspended indefinitely following the alleged incidents.

In a statement today, Hockey PEI’s special discipline and ethics committee says a third-party investigator found inconclusive evidence the players uttered racist slurs at Connors at the hotel, citing lack of witnesses. But it says the investigation is still open.

Aside from the 25-game suspensions, the five players will also need to complete anti-racism training.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2022.