Comment draws suspension
Florida Panthers forward Krys Barch became the first NHL player in more than 12 years to be suspended for making an inappropriate comment toward another player during a game.
He sat out Thursday’s game for a remark to Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban, whose parents are Jamaican.
“I’m very disappointed with the league and the whole process,” said Scott Norton, Barch’s agent. “According to everyone on the conference call today, Krys had no intent of making any racial slur or overtones. Was it a poor choice of words knowing that P.K. Subban was black? Maybe after the fact. . . . I wish the league would have come out stronger in stating that there was no racial intent on his part.”
Subban was in an altercation with Florida defenseman Erik Gudbranson, and when Gudbranson grabbed Subban, the Montreal player went down. Norton said Barch viewed that as Subban flopping to draw a penalty or disengage from the encounter.
As Subban was returning to the bench, according to Norton, Barch yelled, “Hey, P.K., did you slip on a banana peel?” Barch also called Subban a vulgarity that implied he was cowardly.
“Krys certainly meant to call P.K.’S bravery or courage into question,” Norton said. “But not his race or ethnicity.”
Barch was ejected at the end of the first period of the New Year’s Eve game. Under Rule 23.7, racial taunts and slurs are subject to game misconducts.
“Mr. Barch has admitted making the remark but denies that the comment was racially motivated,” said Colin Campbell, senior executive vice president of hockey operations. “While we accept Mr. Barch’s assertion, as a player in the National Hockey League he must be held accountable for making a comment that, in the context in which it was made and in light of the entirety of the circumstances, was offensive and unacceptable.”
Norton said he was disappointed in the hearing process because he had lined up players to speak on Barch’s behalf, including former Dallas Stars teammate Trevor Daley, who is black. Plus, Norton had researched the usage of the phrase “slip on a banana peel” to show that it had no racial overtones in this usage.
According to Norton, Barch, a Canadian, didn’t even appreciate that his phrase could have racial overtones until it was explained to him after the game.
“You are dealing with multicultural athletes coming from all different countries, and they are expected to know what is allowed and what is not allowed,” Norton said. “I think this opens Pandora’s box, because what’s the next thing that is going to be said?”
Norton said he came away thinking Barch was going to receive a one-game suspension no matter what.
“I think they came in with a preconceived notion,” Norton said. “I think they would be the first to admit it wasn’t racial intent. But at the end of the day they felt they had to stand up for themselves and their refereeing force.”
The NHL had previously suspended three players for offensive comments during a game but none since 1999. The suspended players were Bryan Marchment (April 6, 1999), Craig Berube (Nov. 25, 1997) and Chris Simon (Nov. 11, 1997), and their respective opponents — Donald Brashear, Peter Worrell and Mike Grier — are black. Simon got three games and the others one.