It’s unfortunate these type of things keep happening in 2022.
A junior hockey broadcaster in the BCHL has been fired for racist remarks made during a live broadcast on Friday night. The incident took place during a playoff game between the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and Langley Rivermen.
The BCHL is a Junior A ice hockey league based in British Columbia that features 18 total teams. BCHL alums who have played in the NHL include Kyle Greentree, John Newberry, Kyle Turris and Cliff Ronning, among others.
During Friday’s playoff game between Alberni and Langley, Bulldogs colour commentator Bruce MacDonald made a racist comment towards Langley forward Owen Kim. Kim is of Asian descent and listed at only 5’7″ in height.
After Kim made contact with a taller Alberni player following the whistle, the commentator MacDonald made fun of Kim’s height. “Ah Kim, give it a break. Get on a ladder and talk to him,” the commentator said.
MacDonald took it a step further, however, bring race into his commentary of Kim. “Does he speak English? Maybe that’s the problem”, MacDonald said. The racist remark prompted MacDonald’s broadcasting partner to say, “that’s too far”.
The game was streaming on the website HockeyTV. You can view the clip that features MacDonald’s racist remark below:
Video:
Both the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and the BCHL were quick to act following MacDonald’s racist comment on the air. The team removed MacDonald from the broadcast during the game and the play-by-play man called the rest of the matchup on his own.
The BCHL published a statement on social media apologizing to Kim and his family and saying that the league has no tolerance for racism. Here’s the full statement from the BCHL:
“During the second period of tonight’s game between the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and the Langley Rivermen, Bruce MacDonald, the home colour commentator, made a racist comment towards Rivermen player Owen Kim. The Bulldogs were immediately informed of the comments and took action by removing Mr. MacDonald from the broadcast.“
“The BCHL and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs would like to apologize to Owen Kim and his family, as well as anyone else who may have heard the comment. We have a zero tolerance for this type of behaviour and Mr. macdonald is banned from any future broadcast involving the Bulldogs or any other BCHL team. “
It’s unfortunate racism is still part of hockey in 2022, but at least action was taken right away and MacDonald won’t be part of any future BCHL broadcasts moving forward.
