Hrabik apologizes to Imama; Imama releases powerful statement

Earlier on Friday, the American Hockey League announced a 30 game suspension for San Jose Barracuda forward Krystof Hrabik for a racial gesture he made towards Tucson Roadrunners forward Boko Imama.

Now tonight, Hrabik has come out with a statement apologizing for his actions in that game between the teams on January 12th.

"I am ashamed of today's events and embarrassed by the actions that led to my suspension. I want everyone to know that I'm very sorry for what has occurred and I take full responsibility for my actions" Hrabik said.

Later in the statement, he added, "Boko is a player I respect and I am so sorry for putting him through this situation. I sent a personal apology to Boko and sincerely hope that he will forgive me."

Boko Imama then released a powerful statement via his Twitter account following the news of Hrabik's suspension.

"I've been dealing with situations like this my entire life. As a person of color, playing youth hockey, through junior and now twice as a professional, this keeps happening over and over again. We have enough to worry about as pro hockey players and it saddens me when anyone has to deal with these types of issues.

It's frustrating and disheartening that this is still going on in 2022!

Even though I honestly believe the sport has made positive strides, WE still have a long way to go to educate the ignorant and to make hockey a safe place for everyone.

My hope is that people learn from this and that some day hockey will truly be for everyone." Imama said.

Krystof Hrabik, suspended today by the AHL, releases a statement where he apologizes to Boko Imama, accepts responsibility and «will do everything in my power to atone.» pic.twitter.com/2XLH31TeVL— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 22, 2022

Enough is enough! pic.twitter.com/bETzUXEPGo— Boko Imama (@bokojr) January 22, 2022

Related: AHL HANDS OUT HUGE SUSPENSION TO PLAYER WHO MADE RACIAL GESTURE DURING GAME

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