Former Rangers defenceman ejected from Liiga game for racist behavior

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Liam
September 22, 2023 (9:55 PM)

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This last week, professional hockey began in Finland as their top division, LIIGA, began play for this season. Unfortunately, in such a short amount of time, the league is facing a brutal look.

Last Friday in a game between Lukko and KalPa, former New York Ranger defenceman Tarmi Reunanen was ejected following allegations of racist behaviour.

At the moment, it's unclear what Reunanen did or said, but his team Lukko has already released a statement condemning the actions of Reunanen.

Note: the following quote is translated from Finnish

The jury gathers in a small meeting before the start and after the consultation, the shower command for Tarmo Reunanen in time 15:38.

The reason for the punishment is racist behavior."

"Rauma Lukko does not accept racism in any form.

It is in the interest of the entire Liiga community that inappropriate behavior stays away from the rink - that's why the ejection was completely justified. We trust and expect that the League's disciplinary delegation will deal with the case thoroughly."

Hopefully, LIIGA's disciplinary committee will look into the incident and make their findings public once the investigation is completed.

Reunanen, 25 years old, was in the Rangers system after being drafted in the fourth round back of 2016. He only went on to appear in four NHL games with the Rangers during the 2020-21 season, and otherwise spent the rest of his North American career in the AHL.

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What punishment should Reunanen receive, if it's found he used racial language/racist behavior?
Lengthy suspension (10-15 games)	34	37.4 %
Season-long ban	20	22 %
Multi-year ban	11	12.1 %
See Results	26	28.6 %
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