Put racism on ice

There is no room for racism and slurs in minor hockey, but did we need Peterborough house league coach Greg Walsh to point it out?
While everyone appreciates the discussion Coach Walsh spurred when he and his players decided to quit a game after a racial slur hurled at one of his players, his action is troubling and a bad omen for minor hockey organizations.
While making a strong, effective statement about zero tolerance for racist, he also unwittingly showed kids how to thumb their noses at authority, rules and process - which is why Coach Walsh has been appropriately suspended.
Let's be clear. The minor hockey hierarchy is filled with smart people who have the bases covered. Let's also be clear that minor hockey organizations want to welcome all kids and all skill levels.
But teenagers, taught and emboldened by their parents and rogue coaches, will say things and do things in the heat of a game. F-bombs, gay jokes, animated and pointless advice to referees, and, yes, racial taunts are all part of the mix.
There are penalties and suspensions in the rule book to cover all scenarios.
Minor hockey can't have coaches inventing their own rules on the fly, including when to play or when not to play. The result would be chaos.
Without being there, it's hard to say how the situation could have been handled better.
Perhaps the best way would have been to follow the example of retired NHL referee Kerry Fraser when he mediated a situation between Theo Fleury and a player with the St. Louis Blues. The Blues player had taunted Fleury about cocaine and alcohol addictions. Fraser, as he recounts in his new book Final Call, provided on-ice counsel and arranged a face-to-face apology along the boards. Fleury appreciated it and the Blues player later called it a life, and attitude, changing moment.
Too bad the offending opposing player did not have the benefit of Fraser's wise advice.
Still, the player has now expressed regrets, as reported in the local Peterborough Examiner.
And for more on this topic, check out the letters published by the Toronto Star.
Maybe it's time we all bought a copy of the Willie O'Ree biography, the first black person to play in the NHL.