Players and coaches were emotional after the Toledo Walleye's game against Cincinnati on Friday night after a fan was escorted out of the stands for allegedly making racial gestures toward Cincinnati defenseman Jalen Smereck, who is Black.
Early in the third period of Toledo's 6-4 victory over the Cyclones, play was stopped as Smereck pointed out the fan to security. The spectator was escorted from the game at the Huntington Center.
Toledo forward Conlan Keenan, who scored two goals in the game, went to the Cincinnati bench after the game to hug a few of the Cyclones players.
“I went up to him and told him that we were there for him and there's no place in society for that,” Keenan said. “And, he appreciated it. There's definitely no place for that. It's terrible. It's sad to see. We feel for those guys over there. Doing a gesture like that is absolutely unacceptable.”
Smereck is a 26-year-old from Detroit who is in his seventh pro season.
Cincinnati coach Jason Payne, who also is Black, played 13 seasons of pro hockey. Payne, who played in 132 ECHL games, took a philosophical approach to the incident.
“It all starts at the kitchen table,” Payne said. “People don't want to take care of themselves at home and bring that to the game. There's no place for it. For sure, it affects everybody negatively. No one likes to see it.
“We're all out here trying to make a living and trying to play the game of hockey that we all love. Hopefully, it's entertainment for the fans. Unfortunately, it takes those kinds of people to ruin it for everybody.”
Many of the spectators in the crowd of 8,024, who were likely unaware of what had happened, booed Smereck every time he touched the puck for the rest of the game.
Payne said one bad apple does not spoil the whole group.
“I'm not gonna hold any of the Toledo fans accountable for what one dummy does,” Payne said. “One person is not going to dictate how you feel about everybody. I'm not gonna categorize them like that. Hopefully, the real fans out there will realize what happened. There's no place for that in the game.”
Cincinnati forward Zack Andrusiak was infuriated by the incident, banging on the glass as law enforcement removed the fan.
Neil Neukam, the Walleye's executive vice president and general manager, was dismayed by the situation.
“There is zero tolerance for this kind of thing,” Neukam said. “We are very supportive of the ref's decision to eject the fan. We don't condone any type of behavior like that.”
Walleye officials said there are potential repercussions for fans who display such abhorrent behavior.
“We are all in it together from an organization and league standpoint,” Neukam said.
Walleye forward Brandon Hawkins said he played on the same team with Smereck's older brother, Joe, in junior hockey.
“That's not something we take lightly,” Hawkins said. “I don't stand for anything like that. It's not fair. It's not OK. And it needs to be stopped. I'm glad that that person was taken out immediately.
“It's got to change, and I think there's some things where we're making changes in the right direction.”
Keenan said the incident took away from an entertaining hockey game.
“At the end of the day, we can't have fans doing that,” Keenan said. “You know, we're all human. We're all one. And you have to treat others with respect there. It's really on that guy. I hope he has some consequences because that's just unacceptable.”
Walleye coach Pat Mikesch agreed the incident was ugly and impermissible.
“It's something none of us in that room want to be part of,” Mikesch said. “We have such amazing fans that we don't want a terrible lapse in judgment to reflect on this amazing organization. We, in no way, stand for any behavior of that kind.”
First Published December 9, 2023, 5:20 a.m.
