When Landon Sim of the London Knights returns to his team’s lineup next week, he will have served a total of 10 games dating back to last season for violating the OHL’s code of conduct.
The first suspension came in the playoffs last season when Sim called an opponent, who had threatened to break Sim’s shoulder, a word that implied he was soft. The second came in early November when Sim called Brady Martin of the Soo Greyhounds “a Mennonite.” (Martin, who is a first-round prospect for the 2025 draft and a really good player, is actually a Mennonite, we confirmed.)
The OHL referred to the latest suspension as violating the code of conduct for a “remark intended to provoke an opposing player that was marginalizing on both religious and cultural grounds.” It also shared its league policy about all players having the right to participate in a safe and healthy environment that prohibits discriminatory practices.
“All forms of harassment and abuse including, but not limited to, taunts and slurs and comments based on race, age, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or disability will not be tolerated and are completely unacceptable under any circumstances,” OHL policy states.
Related: OHL Suspends Landon Sim For Five Games For A Marginalizing Remark
It appears that we’ve established a very high threshold for on-ice behavior in the OHL, which is all good. But earlier this season, a player received the same five-game suspension for allegedly using a racist epitaph to refer to a Black player. Last season, one player told an opponent to kill himself and received five games as well.
Those words seem more severe than what Sim uttered, but they received the same length of suspension. What seems to be a blanket policy on inappropriate language that violates the OHL’s code of conduct raises questions.
Here’s more in today’s video column (warning: parts of the video contain language that may be disturbing to some viewers):
(Don’t see the video? Click here.)
News Summary:
- Opinion: The OHL Language Police Are Out In Full Force These Days
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