Youth hockey player who was racially abused on ice calls for more education in sport
CBC
A youth hockey player is sharing his experience with racism on the ice in the hope it will spark more discussion and education around race in the sport's community.
Earlier this season, 16-year-old Zaya Morro from Courtenay, B.C., was called a racial slur on the ice after a hit.
"It completely caught me off guard," he said.
He said players in his league often "chirp" at one another — the practice of trash-talking an opponent to unnerve and distract them — but nothing this serious had come up during his 10 years of playing hockey.
Zaya said he and his team's captain reported it to the referee, who kicked the other player out of the game and assured Zaya an investigation would be launched immediately.
But Zaya and his mom, Kristy Morro, were left disappointed by B.C. Hockey's response.
The league said it began looking into the matter as soon as it was made aware of the situation, "shortly" after it happened — but added it was unable to comment on the case, or provide details about the outcome of the investigation, because it involves minors.
In an emailed statement to CBC News, B.C. Hockey said it took "disciplinary and educational" action that was "appropriate and fair."
But Morro said it took her contacting the league repeatedly to see any action, and she and Zaya didn't feel they were taken seriously.
"It was more giving the benefit of the doubt to the player who said the word and not the victim who it was said to," Morro said.
Since the incident, Zaya said he's become a more reserved player and worries that if he gets physical at all he might encounter more hate — something he's not prepared to go through again.
Morro said she's also heard comments about her son from parents in the stands.
"We've heard things like Zaya is out there completely playing normal, not even aggressively, and we get, 'oh, the little Black one has a temper,'" she said.
Zaya is now calling for better education when it comes to discrimination — both formally through leagues and schools, but also between parents and their children.