Michigan State's Jagger Joshua Says Ohio State Hockey Player Used Racial Slur

Jagger Joshua, who is a forward on the Michigan State men's hockey team, said an Ohio State player directed a racial slur at him "multiple times" during a Nov. 11 game between the Big Ten teams.

Joshua released a statement Monday:

"On Nov. 11 in our game against Ohio State, one of their players called me a racial slur multiple times," he stated. "One of the officials heard the slur and gave the player a game misconduct penalty. There was an investigation by the Big Ten in the days after the incident, but no further public action has been taken by the Big Ten Conference or Ohio State."

Joshua also said: "The inaction has left me feeling confused and pessimistic about the movement of diversity within hockey culture. The ignorance of racism does not belong in our game, and I feel that I need to make people aware that this incident occurred, because without acknowledgement, the problem gets worse."

Michigan State vice president and athletic director Alan Haller and hockey coach Adam Nightingale released statements supporting Joshua:

While Joshua did not name the Ohio State player, the game's box score shows Kamil Sadlocha was issued a misconduct penalty during the second period. It was the only game misconduct during the contest, a 4-3 Michigan State win.

It was the second consecutive game between the two teams, and the Spartans won both. The teams are scheduled to face each other again in back-to-back contests Jan. 6 and 7 at Ohio State.

According to the Spartans' website, Josua was an academic All-Big Ten selection in each of the last two seasons and led all forwards with 32 blocked shots in 2021-22. The senior has 11 points with six goals and five assists in 14 games this season.

Michigan State is 9-4-1 overall and 5-2-1 in conference play.