A hacker posted a racial slur hundreds of times on a Zoom video chat hosted by the National Hockey League on Friday that was meant to introduce a black New York Rangers prospect to fans.
The Rangers said in a statement that the video call with K'Andre Miller, a 20-year-old defenseman drafted in 2018, was "disabled as soon as possible" after the "vile individual hijacked the chat to post racial slurs."
The team said that they "were incredibly appalled by this behavior, which has no place online, on the ice, or anywhere, and we are investigating the matter."
The NHL joined "the Rangers in condemning this disgusting behavior" in their own strongly worded statement, calling the hacker's posts "racist, cowardly taunts."
"The person who committed this despicable act is in no way an NHL fan and is not welcome in the hockey community," the hockey league said in a statement. "No one deserves to be subjected to such ugly treatment and it will not be tolerated in our League."
Miller's fellow players and fans tweeted their support of Miller on social media.
Miller, a 6-foot-5 defender from St. Paul, Minnesota, played two seasons at the University of Wisconsin before signing a $3.8 million contract with the New York Rangers a day before the NHL announced it would suspend the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
