VIDEO: WNYAHL Playoffs Cancelled Due To Racial Slur Investigation

[Guest]

Think like a kid for a minute. You are told or find out that chirping is ok. Now how do they learn where the line is? Usually when they get plastered against the boards.  It just would be nice if the leagues would put a stop to it before that happens. But they don't so pay backs are the inevitable result... and next thing you know a junior b game breaks out.

Hockey is not a safe space. It's a (somewhat) controlled environment where kids can learn about human nature and being under pressure. Obviously, kids and parents are going to make mistakes. There will be injuries, hurt feelings and bad calls. But exposure is exactly what kids need and crave. They need to learn whats right and whats wrong by experiencing both. They need to develop their social and moral "antibodies." They can't develop a well calibrated moral compass without experiencing good and bad. I'm not saying you need to expose your kid to all the filth out there. But when you throw 30 kids and 30 adults in a rink, chances are that there will be some human interaction that forces an ethics lesson on the way home. That car ride is so important. It shouldn't be about the coaches x's and o's or the poor play of teammates. It should be about life lessons that the player can take from the rink. It's the same idea with the playground. You don't care who won the cops and robbers game, you care about how the kids interact. The problem is the snowflake parents who react emotionally without thinking. When something happens that they don't like.. well.. we've all seen that circus. That emboldens kids to act out.

Where is the line? "I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it." The line is ambiguous. The line will be different every game, but when that line is violated, penalties are accessed and power plays are awarded. Is there ever a case of a missed call or misjustice in a game? Of course! Same with life. It happens. Learn to identify mistakes, discuss them, apply any necessary corrective action and most importantly, MOVE ON. Also, we have tools like safesport that help define lines.

With all that being said, I think this guy in the video did the right thing. He pulled out his phone to record, stayed calm, didn't scream or yell (as far as we know), and called it for what it was. I'm sure he talked to his kid about it and showed him how it was wrong.

[Guest]

All I am saying is USA Hockey should take a more active role in emphasizing sportsmanship and proper behavior by enforcing the rules that already exist.  If you stop the disrespect early, it won't blossom in to full blown stupidity like the racist taunting in the video.  In fact, I think the the video proves the point.  No penalties were assessed because either the refs were racist as well or because the refs just assumed it was nothing more than the same mean-spirited taunting that they have already accepted as normal. 

[Youth Hockey Info]

Agree, but you can't expect the refs to control every hockey team and how they act. The teams know the rules, it's the coaches responsibility to ensure these kids act responsibly with respect to racial profanity. It's unacceptable, period.