A female high school ice hockey goalie in Pennsylvania returned to the ice Monday for her first school game since she was the target of vulgar chants from spectators that resulted in discipline by a school and a youth sports organization.
Armstrong High School students chanted vulgarities at the Mars Area High School team’s female goalie during an Oct. 28 game between the Armstrong River Hawks and Mars Fightin’ Planets at the Armstrong team’s Belmont Ice Arena near Kittanning, in western Pennsylvania. The chants from among a group of 50 to 60 students were captured on video posted to social media.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League on Thursday barred Armstrong students from River Hawks hockey games and placed the school’s team on probation for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, including the playoffs. Siblings of varsity players can attend only if they enter and sit with a parent or guardian, and the school must provide a faculty member or administrator at each home and away varsity game to serve as a monitor.
League Commissioner John Mucha called the students’ actions “disgusting” and “absolutely more than kids being kids.”
