COLUMBUS, Ohio (WWJ) - Ohio State University announced they have suspended the hockey player accused of directing racial slurs toward Michigan State's Jagger Joshua during a Nov. 11 game in East Lansing.
Ohio State Director of Athletics, Gene Smith, apologized to the Spartans forward Jagger Joshua on Tuesday evening in a prepared statement where Smith also said the player involved in the alleged incident, senior forward Kamil Sadlocha from Carpentersville, Illinois, had been sent home and will not practice or compete with the team.
“I want to offer my sincere and heartfelt apology to Jagger Joshua. On behalf of Ohio State University, I am sorry," Smith wrote.
"No student or student-athlete should experience hatred or racism, and everyone should feel welcome. I have spoken with Michigan State Athletic Director Alan Haller, and I’m thankful Jagger is getting the support he needs.
Over the last week the Department of Athletics has worked through this on-ice incident and spoken with Kamil Sadlocha and the rest of the team, and Kamil is returning home and will not practice or compete at this time.
I have met with the men’s hockey team and will be meeting with them again soon to discuss values. The team will complete education on racial sensitivity, diversity, equity, inclusion and the use of respectful dialog. The department and I will support them through this important process.”
Smith's statement comes a day after Joshua, senior at Michigan State and a Black forward from Dearborn, took to Twitter and publicly expressed his frustration at the Big 10 and Ohio State for failing to punish an opposing OSU player for targeting him in a verbal racial attack during the Spartans' matchup against the Buckeyes at Munn Ice Area earlier this month.
Nathaniel Bott of the Lansing State Journal noted that one Ohio State player, Sadlocha, was the subject of a game misconduct penalty at the 10:39 mark in the second period of the Nov. 11 game, but Joshua did not publicly name the player in his four-paragraph post.
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Smith's statement was the first time Sadlocha was named publicly in the incident.
Joshua said in his post that the game misconduct penalty was the only form of reprimand the OSU player received and neither the Big Ten or Ohio State took further, immediate action.
"The inaction has left me feeling confused and pessimistic about the movement of diversity within hockey culture," Joshua added. "The ignorance of racism does not belong in our game. And I feel that I need to make people aware that this incident occurred, because without acknowledgement, the problem gets worse."
Big Ten said in a statement Monday night that the conference "collected and evaluated" information provided by the Big Ten officiating crew, both Ohio State and Michigan State and compiled available video footage from the game.
After reviewing the information, the conference said it believed the official's decision to issue the penalty was sufficient and decided against taking further disciplinary actions.
Joshua spoke with reporters at a press conference in East Lansing on Tuesday before Smith's statement was released and said he has received an outpouring of support since going public with his story.
“I’ve gotten nothing but support and the messages of family and parents letting me know that their kids are going through similar things and it’s only reassured me that I did the right thing in coming public and I know that I’m not the only one out there,” said Jagger. “Not a lot of people that experienced what I experienced have a platform to speak so I thought it was very important for me to come out personally and let people know that you’re really not alone.
That this in hockey doesn’t belong and it happens way too often for it to just go unnoticed,” continued Jagger.
Jagger said he is most appreciative of the game official who stepped in and issued the game misconduct to Sadlocha.
The forward told the media that he reached out to that official and thanked him for not turning the other way.
At this time, it remains unclear how long Sadlocha's suspension will last and if Ohio State plans to take any further disciplinary actions.