CORNWALL – The parents of a former Cornwall Girls Hockey Association peewee player have been restricted from attending any games or practices for the rest of the hockey season.
The ruling from the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association came down in the middle of January after racially-charged insults were hurled at a referee during a game in early December.
It happened during a game between the Cornwall Typhoons and the Ottawa Ice at the Tom Brown Arena on Dec. 5, 2015.
“What they (the league) did investigate is that inappropriate language was used and directed towards the referee and since it was of a derogatory nature, they felt compelled that there was no choice but to suspend the parents,” Cornwall Girls Hockey Association President Rod McLeod told Cornwall Newswatch in an interview Monday.
“The parents (a mother and father) cannot attend any of the games or practices at an arena that this young girl’s playing with, as long as she’s with the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association or with our association,” McLeod added.
The restrictions are in place until the end of the 2015-16 hockey season, which ends with the provincial playdowns in early April.
But the sanction is not likely to affect them because McLeod indicated the parents have since pulled their daughter from the CGHA and she is now playing in the United States.
The local president said he had talked with the parents on four or five occasions during the wait period and there was “some remorse on their part” for what had happened.
McLeod said he discussed it about three weeks ago with the local hockey executive and the board believed this was the best decision brought down by the OWHA.
“On behalf of the association, we find that the situation was unfortunate. It’s something that obviously should never have happened in a venue like an arena or any other sports venue,” he said.
“Our hope is that, given what has transpired over the last couple of months, that families will learn from this situation and that, perhaps, the atmosphere – in this case an arena – will be more conducive to a positive environment for families, players and the referees,” McLeod stated.