Ohio State hockey player Kamil Sadlucha has been sent home “and will not be training or competing at this time,” athletic director Gene Smith said Tuesday. The suspension comes after Michigan State’s Jagger Joshua said an Ohio State player called him “a racial slur several times” at a game earlier this month.
“An official overheard the defamation and charged the player with a misconduct penalty,” Joshua, who is Black, said Tuesday in a statement on social media. “There was an investigation by the Big Ten in the days following the incident, but no further public action was taken by the Big Ten conference or Ohio State.”
And Sadlucha issued a misconduct game in the competition.
Racist behavior does not belong to hockey. pic.twitter.com/nm9AnIjSgV
– Jagger Joshua (@jaggerjoshua8) November 21, 2022
Later Tuesday, Smith released his statement regarding the suspension.
“I want to offer my sincere and heartfelt apology to Jagger Joshua. On behalf of Ohio State, I am so sorry,” he wrote. “No student or student-athlete should suffer from hate or racism, and everyone should feel welcome. I spoke with Michigan State Athletic Director Alan Haller, and I am grateful that Jagger has the support he needs.”
Shortly after Joshua’s statement, Michigan State’s athletics department and hockey coach Adam Nightingale issued a joint statement, expressing their support for Joshua.
“It is important to me that all student-athletes feel comfortable and supported in our locker room and in our program,” said Nightingale. “I am proud to have Jagger Joshua on our team.”
Joshua said the inaction from the Big Ten and Ohio State after the game left him “confused and pessimistic about the diversity movement within hockey culture.”
“Ignorance about racism does not belong in our game, and I feel I need to make people aware that this incident occurred, because without acknowledgment, the problem only gets worse.”
(Photo: Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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