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When it comes to matters of inclusion, hockey has come a long way since Willie O’Ree became the first black player in the NHL in 1958, but a couple of ugly incidents in St-Jérôme indicate there’s still work to be done.

The first occurred last weekend during a Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey game between the Marquis de Jonquière and the hometown Pétroliers du Nord. The trouble started late in the second period when Jonquière player Jonathan-Ismaël Diaby took a high-sticking penalty. As Diaby, who is black, skated to the penalty box, a number of fans yelled at him and several used the N-word. One fan leaned over the glass, mimicked the actions of a monkey and showed Diaby a picture of a baboon on his phone.

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At the same time, Diaby’s parents were subjected to abuse as they sat in the stands. A video of the incident shows the parents being jostled by a crowd as they attempted to leave the arena.

Photo by Mark Humphrey / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Three days later, there was another incident in St-Jérôme. This involved racial taunts hurled at a black player by parents during a game between two of the top high school teams in the province.