Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua said “there’s no room” in hockey for the racist slurs that were allegedly aimed toward his younger brother by an opposing player during a Big Ten game.
Jagger Joshua, a 23-year-old senior forward for Michigan State University, said in a tweet Monday that an Ohio State University player called him a racial slur multiple times during the Spartans’ 4-3 win in East Lansing on Nov. 11.
“There’s no room for that in this game and in life in general,” Dakota said following Vancouver’s 5-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. “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, who played for Ohio State from 2015-19. “So until it’s non-existent, I don’t think it’s surprising.”
In his tweet, Jagger said, “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 allows these behaviors to continue.”
Michigan State vice president and athletic director Alan Haller said in a statement that the athletic department “stands with Jagger Joshua and commends him for having the courage to speak up against racial injustice.”
Jagger said that an on-ice official heard the slur and gave the opposing player a game misconduct. The only player who received a misconduct in that game was Ohio State forward Kamil Sadlocha, in the second period.
Jagger in his tweet expressed displeasure that there has been no public action by Ohio State or the Big Ten following their investigation of the alleged incident.
“The inaction has left me feeling confused and pessimistic about the movement of diversity within hockey culture,” he said. “The ignorance of racism does not belong in our game, and I feel that I need to make people aware that this incident occurred because without acknowledgment, the problem gets worse.”
In a statement to the Wisconsin State Journal, the Big Ten said that it collected and evaluated information from the conference’s officiating crew, Ohio State and Michigan State, along with available video footage.
“Due to the absence of indisputable evidence presented to the conference, the conference has not imposed further disciplinary action,” the statement said.
Ohio State issued a statement Monday night, that its Department of Athletics and men’s hockey program “worked collaboratively with the Big Ten to come to a resolution in response to the allegation of misconduct toward the Big Ten sportsmanship policy.”
NHL.com independent correspondent Kevin Woodley contributed to this report
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