New York Rangers prospect K'Andre Miller was repeatedly called a racial slur during a Zoom chat with fans Friday.
The team had set up a Q&A with its 2018 first-round pick, who signed an entry-level contract last month. As the Zoom chat was proceeding, someone pasted the slurs on the screen multiple times in succession. (WARNING: The slurs are visible in the linked content.)
In a statement, the team said: "We held an online video chat with fans and New York Rangers prospect K'Andre Miller, during which a vile individual hijacked the chat to post racial slurs, which we disabled as soon as possible. We were incredibly appalled by this behavior, which has no place online, on the ice, or anywhere, and we are investigating the matter."
The NHL also released a statement saying: "The National Hockey League is appalled that a video call arranged today by the New York Rangers to introduce their fans to one of the league's incoming stars, K'Andre Miller, was hacked with racist, cowardly taunts. The person who committed this despicable act is in no way an NHL fan and is not welcome in the community.
"No one deserves to be subjected to such ugly treatment and it will not be tolerated in our league. We join the Rangers in condemning this disgusting behavior."
USA Hockey and Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba voiced their support for Miller on Twitter.
We support K’Andre Miller, an incredible leader, teammate, friend & person.
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) April 4, 2020
Racial & derogatory slurs have absolutely no place in the game or society.
What happened today was inexcusable and cowardly. Racism has no place in the hockey community or the world. @kandre_miller we are excited to have you as a part of the @NYRangers and I look forward to having you as a teammate.
— Jacob Trouba (@JacobTrouba) April 4, 2020
Zoom has gained popularity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as a way for people to communicate, but "Zoom bombing" has also been on the rise with many hackers invading chats.
Miller, a defenseman, signed with the Rangers after tallying 18 points in 36 games for the University of Wisconsin last season and was a member of the U.S. team at the World Junior Championship teams in 2019 and 2020.