Panetta was suspended immediately by the ECHL for his actions and they issued the following statement.
The ECHL on Sunday announced that Jacksonville's Jacob Panetta has been suspended indefinitely pending a hearing under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, as a result of his actions in ECHL Game #474, South Carolina at Jacksonville, on Jan. 22.
Panetta is suspended under Rule #28 � Supplementary Discipline as a result of his actions at 0:23 of overtime.
Today after reviewing the footage and information available the Jacksonville Icemen have issued their own punishment to Jacob Panetta.
In a statement from the team they said the following:
OFFICIAL STATEMENT
To be clear, our core values as an ownership group include one love and zero tolerance for racism or any other forms of hate against any group whatsoever.
The platform that is the Jacksonville lcemen is one that is more than just about hockey to us as a group. It is about using this platform to spread not only our love for hockey but our love for the community and for each other. Though the investigation and review is ongoing at the league level, the Jacksonville lcemen will be releasing the player involved effective immediately and will continue our mission of sharing our love of community and hockey.
On behalf of the entire lcemen organization, we apologize to any one who was offended and look forward to beginning the process of healing together as one.
Thank you.
Andy Kaufmann, Icemen CEO
The Icemen have clearly made the decision based on everything they've seen and heard that Jacob Panetta doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt in this situation.