P.K. Subban doubles down on criticism of Jacob Panetta over alleged racist gesture.

There has been quite the controversy in the sport of hockey over the weekend and it surrounds accusations of racism directed at ECHL player Jacob Panetta, accusations that Panetta himself has categorically denied.

The firestorm began on Saturday when New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban, a big name in the National Hockey League, took to social media to call out an alleged racist gesture from Panetta. You might be wondering why Subban felt strongly enough about an incident like this to tweet about it and call Panetta out publicly in a very harsh manner, but that becomes very clear when you realize that the gesture was directed at his younger brother Jordan Subban.

If you have not seen the gesture, here is a video published by Subban via his Twitter account. The gesture can best be seen at around the 18 second mark of the video.

As a result Panetta has been suspended indefinitely and has been kicked off of his team's roster entirely, however the 26 year old defenseman denies the allegations that there was any racial connotation behind his actions. Panetta claims that he was merely making a "tough guy" stance and furthermore claimed that he has done so throughout his career when opposing players try to taunt him into fighting.

Panetta not only claimed that this was the case, but he also actually published a video on his own social media that does appear to show him making the same gesture, against the same team, prior to Jordan Subban being a part of their roster. Unfortunately the quality of the video he published is not the best.

Here is that video:

Some have also pointed to the fact that other players have made similar gestures in the past, including most notably Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson.

Of course all of this is subject to interpretation and it would appear as though P.K. Subban is not buying Panetta's explanation. On Sunday night he doubled down on his criticisms of the young defenseman while also decrying racism in the sport of hockey in general.

"I didn't sleep much" said Subban when addressing the media on Sunday. "Obviously I had a conversation with my family... sheer disappointment you know? It's distasteful, there's no room for it in our game and I think... I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed because our game is better than this and what I think about is all the great people and the great things about our game that I love. The unfortunate things is not just the incident, the unfortunate thing is how many kids deal with this every day and it doesn't come to light."

This is obviously a very sensitive and very difficult topic and if this is the result of a genuine misunderstanding I feel bad for everyone involved. What comes next will likely depend on whether or not Panetta can demonstrate that this is in fact something he has done throughout his career.

To listen to Subban's full comments you can check out the video below: