Michigan hockey dismisses Johnny Druskinis for allegedly vandalizing Jewish Resource Center grounds

Michigan ice hockey removed sophomore defenseman Johnny Druskinis from the team just before the start of the 2023-24 season for allegedly defacing the property near the university's Jewish Resource Center with graffiti of male genitalia and a homophobic slur alongside another student in August.

“Johnny Druskinis is no longer on the Michigan Hockey roster, following a violation of team rules," a Michigan spokesperson said in a statement.

The Michigan spokesperson did not elaborate on the reason why Druskinis was dismissed.

The Ann Arbor Police released a statement via social media on Tuesday afternoon. The statement confirmed that two suspects vandalized the sidewalk of the resource center. A male suspect spray painted the genitalia and slur and a female suspect spray painted her initials on the sidewalk, according to police.

CBS Detroit reported Sunday that Ann Arbor police have identified the two students but resource center director Rabbi Fully Eisenberger declined to press charges. The Ann Arbor Police statement Tuesday confirmed that charges would not be filed.

According to a grassroots watchdog group called StopAntisemitism, Druskinis was kicked off the team for vandalizing the walkway in front of the Resource Center in broad daylight in August. StopAntisemitism said in a statement to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that multiple Michigan students reported Druskinis' identity to the group.

"Druskinis is a Michigan student first and a hockey player second," StopAntisemitism executive director Liora Rez said. "Fighting the nationwide campus antisemitism crisis requires recognizing that adults bear responsibility for their actions; if Michigan believed his disgusting behavior warranted dismissal from the hockey team, they should seriously consider suspending or expelling him from the university."

Ann Arbor police released video of the incident that occurred Aug. 22, asking the public for help identifying the two students committing the vandalism. The video shows two students, one male and one female, spray painting the walkway to the resource center at 5 p.m. as a group of other students walked by.

Druskinis played in eight games for the Wolverines last year in his freshman season and had two assists. He attended Hartland High School and enrolled at Michigan in 2022.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan ice hockey dismisses Johnny Druskinis for alleged vandalism