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Sharks Minor League Player Banned 30 Games for Racist Gesture Towards Black Player

The American Hockey League announced on Friday that forward Krystof Hrabik of the San Jose Barracuda will serve a 30-game suspension after making a racist gesture toward left wing Boko Imama of the Tucson Roadrunners.

Tucson told the AHL that Hrabik, who plays for a minor league team of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, made a made a monkey gesture at Imama—who is Black—after the Barracudas’ 4–3 loss to the Roadrunners on Jan. 12. The league confirmed the incident in a video.

According to a joint statement made by the Sharks and the Barracuda, the 22-year-old was removed from all team activities immediately following the incident as the AHL conducted an investigation.