|
HC Donbass' Smereck, who is Black, was targeted by Kremenchuk's
Andriy Deniskin during the contest, with videos on social media
showing him mimicking peeling a banana and eating it before he
was ejected.
Deniskin later apologised on Instagram and the UHL banned him
for 13 matches -- three for a match penalty and a further 10 for
the racist gesture.
Smereck said earlier in the week he would not play another game
until Deniskin was suspended.
"I'm trying to figure out what the correct move would be,"
Smereck told ESPN on Wednesday. "I'm just going to take a few
days and think it over.
"Once you leave Europe it's hard to come back. Once you leave
the States, it's hard to get back. It's a tough situation. I'm
going to take as much time as I can to think it over, and make
the best move that I can."
Smereck said he received support from former and current NHL
players, including Arizona Coyotes' Clayton Keller.
"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the video," ESPN quoted
Keller as saying. "Just terrible to see that.
"There's no place for racism in hockey.
"I think the hockey community is so tight, and only continuing
to grow. (Jalen) is playing for the next generation, to make
sure this stuff never happens again."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
