Jalen Smereck is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the Ukrainian Hockey League (UHL) after being the target of a racist gesture during a stoppage in play.
The 24-year-old Detroit native is a defenseman for HC Donbass, based in Druzhkivka, Ukraine. In the second period, he was taunted by Andrey Deniskin of HC Kremenchuk, who mimicked peeling a banana and eating it.
On his IG account, Smereck called for the UHL to remove Deniskin from the league
“Therefore I have been putting a lot of thought into what comes next for me in my career but as of right now I have decided that I will be taking a personal leave of absence from HC Donbass and I will not play another game in the (UHL) until Andrey Deniskin is suspended and removed from the league.”
