On Friday evening, Tucson Roadrunners forward Boko Imama – the recipient of yet another racist attack – posted a statement to his social media feed, following the American Hockey League’s announcement of a 30-game ban issued to his attacker, Krystof Hrabik.
Former Tri-City Americans captain Krystof Hrabik has been suspended 30 games by the American Hockey League for using a racial gesture towards Boko Imama in a game between the San Jose Barracuda and Tucson Roadrunners on January 12.
Good riddance. Why does this keep happening.
— Carter Brooks (@CBrooksie84) January 21, 2022
The following is Imama’s full message, to which he captioned, “Enough is enough!”
“I’ve been dealing with situations like this my entire life. As a person of color playing youth hockey, through Junior and now twice as a professional, this keeps happening to me over and over again. We have enough to worry about as pro hockey players and it saddens me when anyone has to deal with these types of issues.
It’s frustrating and disheartening that this is still going on in 2022!
Even though I honestly believe the sport has made positive strides, WE still have a long way to go to educate the ignorant and to make hockey a safe place for everyone.
My hope is that people learn from this and that some day hockey will truly be for everyone.”
Moments before Imama’s statement dropped, the guilty party also posted an apology online. The post ran lengthy and felt rather scripted, but in making the best of a bad situation, Hrabik did offer up his apologies, pleaded ignorance and committed to additional education, while vowing not to appeal his suspension.
Hrabik’s full statement is posted below:
I am ashamed of today’s events and embarrassed by the actions that led to my suspension. I want everyone to know that I’m very sorry for what has occurred and I take full responsibility for my actions.
People should know that I had absolutely no inappropriate intent. The gesture was made in the heat of battle and while I didn’t mean anything racist by what I did, I realize now through my own ignorance how my gesture could be interpreted. I alone am responsible for that, it was terrible, and I make no excuses. When I heard about Boko’s reaction to the gesture, I was horrified by what I had done.
Boko is a player I respect and I am so sorry for putting him through this situation. I sent a personal apology to Boko and sincerely hope that he will forgive me. I also want to apologize to the American Hockey League, the San Jose Barracuda, the Tucson Roadrunners, and to my teammates for my unacceptable actions.
I fully accept the consequences of my actions and am not appealing the discipline imposed by the AHL.
I will be working with Anson Carter, Kim Davis, and the NHL’s Player Inclusion Committee to participate in education and training on racism and inclusion. I know I will be judged by my future conduct. If given the opportunity, I will do everything in my power to atone for my actions and lead by example.
More information on the full incident, the background and leadup can be found here.
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