In Western Pennsylvania, high school hockey is not school-sponsored but a club sport, run by parents and boosters at each school. Armstrong is the only school in the league currently required to have a faculty member in attendance.
The Armstrong River Hawks were also placed on disciplinary probation for the rest of the season. Siblings of varsity Armstrong hockey players can go to games if they sit with a parent or a guardian.
The Armstrong Area School District issued a formal apology to the Mars Area School District and said it would be apologizing to the goalie as well, according to Mark Gross, the Mars district superintendent. According to the Mars varsity and junior varsity rosters, the same goalie plays on both teams.
“We are confident that the Armstrong Area School District’s efforts will lead to appropriate discipline for those involved while also minimizing the potential for future incidents,” Dr. Gross added.
The controversy has inspired opinion articles in local newspapers and drawn attention from professional hockey players.
Meghan Duggan, an Olympic gold medalist, tweeted in support of the goalie. “Every time you take the ice, women & girls all over the hockey community are proud of YOU!” she wrote. “You represent so much more than the hateful words that were directed toward you. I stand with you.”
“To all the girls & women who have watched this video & thought there is not a place for you in this sport — there is,” Kendall Coyne Schofield, another Olympic gold medalist, said in a tweet. “To all of those chanting/watching — there is not.”