Racial slurs by Chicago fans widely condemned
Target, teams and league call behavior unacceptable
This wasn’t the first time Devante Smith-Pelly has had racial taunts directed at him during a hockey game.
And the Washington Capitals forward knew immediately what the intent of the message was when a few fans began chanting “basketball, basketball, basketball,” while Smith-Pelly sat in the penalty box during a 7-1 loss at Chicago on Saturday night. SmithPelly, a black player in a sport dominated by white athletes, heard a similar taunt years before while playing in a tournament in British Columbia.
“It’s pretty obvious what that means. It’s not really a secret,” SmithPelly said after the Capitals practiced in Buffalo on Sunday. “Whether it’s that word or any other word, I got the idea. And I’m sure they got the idea, too. Just one word, and that’s really all it takes.”
What stunned the 25-year-old is how such incidents keep happening.
“It’s disgusting,” he said. “You’d think there would be some sort of change or progression, but we’re still working toward it, I guess, and we’re going to keep working toward it.”
The Blackhawks and United Center officials reacted swiftly by ejecting four fans shortly after an off-ice official sitting next to Smith-Pelly serving a fighting major for a scrap with Chicago’s Connor Murphy notified building security.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman released a statement Sunday, saying the league condemns the fans’ behavior as being “unacceptable and reprehensible.”
The Capitals released a statement saying they are “extremely disappointed by the intolerant behavior” by a select group of fans in Chicago.
In thanking the Blackhawks and arena security, the Capitals said: “It is crucial to confront such appalling conduct.”
The Blackhawks issued a statement apologizing to Smith-Pelly and the Capitals following the game, and said they “are committed to providing an inclusive environment.”
Video shows Smith-Pelly seated in the penalty box while looking and pointing to his left. He then gets up with his stick and gets into a verbal exchange with a male fan on other side of the glass.
Smith-Pelly said he stepped forward publicly to call out the fans for what they said because he didn’t want to “brush it under the rug.”
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