March 20, 2019
Philadelphia Flyers' forward Justin Bailey has spoken out against racist comments made toward a 17-year-old hockey player from Bailey's hometown of Buffalo.
Roshaun Brown-Hall, a black high school hockey player with the Amherst Knights in Amherst, New York, was taunted during a game. The opponents, the Cheektowaga Warriors, were allegedly screaming racial slurs like "monkey" at Brown-Hall.
Video of the incident was posted to YouTube.
Bailey, acquired from the Buffalo Sabres earlier this season, has spent the time since with the Flyers and its minor league affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He spoke out in support of Brown-Hall this week, saying his "stomach flipped a little bit" because he played for that same team for 10 years growing up.
"No kid should have to go through that. No kid should have to worry about going to the rink or playing a game and thinking about anything but playing a sport that they love," Bailey, who is black, told WKBW.
Brown-Hall's family reportedly filed complaints with the New York State Amateur Hockey Association and no disciplinary action had been taken after two months until Brown-Hall's father went public about the situation.
Longtime New York State Amateur Hockey Association regional president David Braunstein resigned this week following the backlash, Buffalo News reported.
"I think there comes a point in time when you have to put your foot down, especially nowadays when the emphasis is on everybody being equal," Bailey told WKBW.
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