ECHL player Panetta suspended for remainder of season after making 'racial gesture'
The ECHL has suspended former Jacksonville Icemen forward Jacob Panetta for the remainder of the season for a "racial gesture" directed toward South Carolina Stingrays defenceman Jordan Subban in a game on Saturday.
The suspension amounts to 38 games.
The league said in a statement that Panetta can apply for reinstatement after March 17 pending successful completion of an education program conducted in conjunction with the NHL Player Inclusion Committee.
Panetta made the gesture toward Subban, who is Black, during an altercation at the start of overtime.
Video posted on Twitter by Subban's brother, New Jersey Devils defenceman P.K. Subban, shows Panetta taking a monkey-like pose while Jordan Subban is being led away by an official. Jordan Subban then skates back toward Panetta and the two lock up at the beginning of a multiplayer skirmish.
In a post on his Twitter account, Jordan Subban said Panetta "was too much of a coward" to fight him.
"As I began to turn my back he started making monkey gestures at me so I punched him in the face multiple times and he turtled like the coward he is," Subban posted.
Panetta posted a video on Sunday, saying he "did a tough-guy bodybuilder-like gesture" that he said he's made to other players in other games.
The ECHL provisionally suspended Panetta on Sunday pending the result of an investigation, while the Icemen released him.
"Insensitive actions and gestures, regardless of intent, cannot be tolerated in our game", ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin said in a statement released Thursday.
"We all need to learn and grow from this incident, and remain steadfast to further educating and advancing our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our league."
-- With files from The Associated Press.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Prince William and wife Kate thank public for birthday messages for son Louis
Prince William and his wife Kate thanked the public for their messages which had been sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis on Tuesday.
She was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father. Then life dealt her a blow
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
South Korean sentenced to 14 months in jail for killing 76 cats
South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country's most gruesome cases of animal cruelty in recent years.