Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua said "there's no room for that in this game and in life in general" after a racial slur was allegedly aimed at his younger brother Jagger during an NCAA game on Nov. 11.
After the Canucks' 5-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, Dakota told reporters: "It's a terrible situation to be a part of. But his goal is to put it out there so people can learn from it and hope it doesn't happen again.
"You would like to think we've come a long way, especially over recent years, but obviously (this) still keeps happening," said Dakota. "So until it's non-existent, I don't think it's surprising."
Jagger Joshua, a Michigan State University forward, said on Monday he was “confused and pessimistic about the movement of diversity within hockey culture” after no supplementary discipline was given to an Ohio State player who called him a racial slur multiple times during a game on Nov. 11.
In his statement on Twitter posted on Monday, Joshua said one of the officials heard the slur and assessed a game misconduct penalty. He said there was an investigation into the incident by the Big Ten Conference and Ohio State, but that no further action has taken place.
Ohio State centre Kamil Sadlocha received a game misconduct penalty in that game.
“Acts of racism do not belong in hockey, as they can discourage African Americans and minorities like myself from playing and loving the game. Inaction in the face of racist comments and actions allow these behaviours to continue,” Joshua said.
“… The ignorance of racism does not belong in our game, and I feel I need to make people aware that this incident occurred because without acknowledgement, the problem gets worse.”
The Big Ten collected and evaluated information from the conference's officiating crew, both schools and video footage and supported the in-game penalty on the Buckeyes, but decided against further punishment.
“Due to the absence of indisputable evidence presented to the conference, the conference has not imposed further disciplinary action," the Big Ten said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Joshua, a 23-year-old native of Dearborn, Mich., is in his fourth season with Michigan State.
--with files from The Associated Press
