Two news articles I bring to your attention, about incidents of, well, pretty disgusting behaviour by players and spectators.
Lots of people say sports is a reflection of society, and that sports can be used to develop good character and personality traits. That's true, but only if it is done intentionally. Real growth and development comes from an active (not passive) process of trying to improve ourselves. With that in mind, players and parents please read on...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/06/us/pittsburgh-armstrong-hockey-chant-ban.html
This first article is from the United States, but it can and does happen in Canada. What is perhaps most concerning is that NOBODY did anything about it in the moment. That's called the Bystander Effect - everyone witnessing something and doing nothing because everyone assumes someone else will do something, but nothing gets done.
This second article
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/racial-slurs-are-common-in-toronto-area-minor-hockey-league-players-say-1.4972991
is about the GTHL, and again, it happens everywhere.
Let me state the obvious: these types of behaviour are completely unacceptable in any situation. But this is about more than that. It is not good enough to do nothing and to assume someone else is going to do something.
If you see something or hear something, then do something (if nothing else, tell me what is happening and I will do something). If you do something, do it in the right way. The goal is to stop the behaviour, not to escalate the situation (i.e. no retaliation). If it happens on the ice, tell our coaches and we will address it with the referees and/or opposing coaches. If it happens off the ice, bring it to my attention to address it with the appropriate people.
I look forward to any further discussions with players and/or parents about this.