KITTANNING (Pa.) -- Monday marks the return of a female high school ice hockey goalie from Pennsylvania to the ice for her first game since being the target of vulgar chants by spectators that led to discipline by a school as well as a youth sports organisation.
At the Belmont Ice Arena in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the Armstrong High School students shouted vulgarities at the Mars Area High School's female goalie. This was during an Oct. 28 match between the Armstrong River Hawks (in western Pennsylvania) and the Mars Fighting Planets (in western Pennsylvania). Video of the chants, which were shared on social media by a group of between 50 and 60 students, was captured.
On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic hockey League barred Armstrong students and placed the school on probation for the rest of the 2021-22 season. This includes the playoffs. Siblings of varsity hockey players are not allowed to attend, but they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The school must also provide a faculty member/administrator at each home or away varsity game to act as a monitor.
John Mucha, League commissioner, called the actions of students "disgusting" as well as "absolutely more that kids being children."
Mucha stated, "The game should have been stopped until the behavior stops or the fans are escorted from the building."
Meghan Duggan (Team USA Women's Hockey Olympian) offered her support to the Mars player via a tweet
"Every time that you take to the ice, women all over the hockey world are proud of you!" She said. "You are so much more than hateful words directed at you."
Steve Meyers, Mars coach, said that his goalie, who had played in all five games this season, was in tears at the end of the second period. The family of her goalie declined to comment and The Associated Press won't name her to protect her privacy and prevent further abuse.
Meyers stated that Meyers is the only goalie and one of many girls who have played high-school hockey in the past, some as goalie.
"We don't have anyone else. Meyers, now in his 14th season as coach, said that she plays JV and varsity for us. We've seen many girls in this league before, but never heard anything quite like it. This should never happen despite all the training that we receive as coaches on safe sports and good sportsmanship. It's truly disappointing for it to fail so badly.
Kirk Lorigan, Armstrong's principal, stated that school officials were "appalled" and "embarrassed" by the chants and that he was "disgusted” that parents and security personnel did not intervene. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he apologized to Armstrong, the team, and the Mars community.
Lorigan stated that while officials are still investigating, Lorigan claimed that appropriate school discipline had been used. The Post-Gazette reported Lorigan declined to comment on Thursday night whether suspensions had been imposed. The school board didn't also specify any disciplinary measures. It wasn't clear if discipline was only imposed on students.
Armstrong County commissioners however extended the ban on students in grades 9-12 attending Belmont hockey games to include grades 7 and 8. High school administrators also demanded that the Armstrong hockey organization hire two security guards to protect future games.
Western Pennsylvania high school hockey is not sponsored by schools, but is a club sport that is run by parents and boosters at each school.
In a Saturday statement, the Mars Hockey Club board expressed its gratitude for the support. However, they stated that directors wanted to respect and protect the privacy our goalie. Officials stated that their number one priority was to provide a safe environment for her and all student-athletes to continue doing what they love, which is hockey.
The Mars club statement stated that "Clearly, the October 28 incident was totally unacceptable" and that the whole hockey community must take action to prevent similar behavior from happening again. "We hope that the media attention that this incident has brought will bring light to the issues that female athletes are facing and will lead to the elimination of this kind of behavior from our sport.
Armstrong, a Kittanning high school, is now 3-0 and beat Mars 7-4 in their Oct. 28 match. Mars is 0-5.
The Mars goalie, once again, took to the ice Saturday to the cheers and support of her travel team, Arctic Foxes. Monday night is her next high school game at the UPMC Lemieux Sport Complex.
