Reason for Investigation into WHL Coach Revealed

The Western Hockey League (WHL) shocked many last night by announcing suddenly that one of the league's coaches and been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation. Very little was said on why, other than that a complaint had been filed. We now have more information on the incident.

According to Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News, Kevin Constantine, Head Coach of the Wenatchee Wild, is being investigated for allegedly using a racial slur.





This is an interesting development from a league that just hired Bill Peters as a coach. Peters resigned as head coach of the Calgary Flames in 2019 following accusations of suing racial slurs in the past. Peters was recently named head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

There's no word on whether Constantine's alleged use of a slur involved a player, a member of his staff, or someone else. Constantine has served as a head coach in the NHL, going behind the bench for the Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils. He is the only coach in NHL history to take two eighth-seeded teams to first-round Stanley Cup playoff upsets (San Jose over the Detroit Red Wings in 1994 and Pittsburgh over New Jersey in 1999).