Hockey player returns to team after allegations of racism

Anthony Allain-Samaké, who denounced racist and discriminatory remarks of which he was the target, will join his team, L'Intrépide de Gatineau, and participate in the Dodge Cup, set to start Wednesday in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. 

The U15 AAA player left his team earlier in April, but made the decision Tuesday to play again following discussions with his family and team officials. 

On Friday, the team announced six of its players involved had been suspended for the remainder of the season, following a request from Hockey Quebec. 

The team also apologized to Allain-Samaké and another team, "following deplorable incidents that occurred on and off the ice."

Julie Allain, Anthony's mother, said her son wanted to play and show that by rejoining the team he is not alone.

Since the end of March, players from the Outaouais region, including Allain-Samaké, had spoken out about being the victim of racist and discriminatory insults. 

In the wake of those allegations, Hockey Quebec announced it had launched an investigation and asked that the coach of L'Intrépide be suspended during that investigation. 

During an interview with Radio-Canada, Hockey Quebec general manager Jocelyn Thibault said he was "extremely surprised and disappointed" by the allegations. 

"I thought we were much more advanced than that," he said in French. "I thought we were past that kind of situation. Unfortunately, it seems not."

He promised Hockey Quebec will set up awareness campaigns.

"We have work to do at this level to raise awareness," he said.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.