After Capitals forward Joel Ward scored the game-winning goal in overtime to propel Washington into the second round of the playoffs, a series of racist tweets regarding Ward surfaced from fans watching Wednesday night's Game 7.
The commentary has caused a stir within the sports world. Leonsis responded in support of his player and launched an attack against the blatant racism in a post on his blog on Thursday.
"What these people have said and done is unforgivable. I hope they are now publicly identified and pay a huge price for their beliefs. There should be zero tolerance for this kind of hate mongering," Leonsis said.
"We will as an organization support Joel Ward. He has been a great teammate and a great citizen. He is now the star of stars in our city for his heroics last night. He is a friend and a fantastic player – who delivered – as advertised for us and our fans in the playoffs."
The comments certainly won't be the last of their kind, but with retorts and reaction like that of Leonsis it should at least decrease the likelihood of other offenders heading down the same road.
