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NHL postpones two days of playoff games due to police brutality and systemic racism after inaction the night before

By Ian Oland

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August 27, 2020 4:56 pm

The NHL postponed its playoff games on Thursday and Friday after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, sparked outrage and Black Lives Matter protests across the country. Blake was shot seven times in the back by police in front of his own children.

Wednesday night, the Milwaukee Bucks started a movement, and refused to play Game Five of its first-round series against the Orlando Magic due to the shooting. Soon after, the NBA postponed games between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. Other leagues followed hours later. Three WNBA games (including your Washington Mystics), five Major League Soccer games, and three Major Baseball games were called off in solidarity with the Bucks. Many NFL teams also canceled practices.

The NHL, which consists of only 29 active Black players according to Wikipedia, played its games as scheduled. The league made a course correction nearly 24 hours later, but according to the Hockey Diversity Alliance, the decision was sparked by several players still playing who reached out asking for advice on what to do.

The NHL released this statement at 6 PM.

NEW YORK/TORONTO (Aug. 27, 2020) – After much discussion, NHL Players believe that the best course of action would be to take a step back and not play tonight’s and tomorrow’s games as scheduled. The NHL supports the Players’ decision and will reschedule those four games beginning Saturday and adjust the remainder of the Second Round schedule accordingly.

Black and Brown communities continue to face real, painful experiences. The NHL and NHLPA recognize that much work remains to be done before we can play an appropriate role in a discussion centered on diversity, inclusion and social justice.

We understand that the tragedies involving Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others require us to recognize this moment. We pledge to work to use our sport to influence positive change in society.

The NHLPA and NHL are committed to working to foster more inclusive and welcoming environments within our arenas, offices and beyond.

The New York Post’s Larry Brooks and the Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun added these details.

The Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, Vegas Golden Knights, and Vancouver Canucks will not play their scheduled games on Thursday while the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, and Colorado Avalanche will not play Friday.

Akim Aliu, the co-head of the HDA, said on Thursday that Scott Laughton, James van Riemsdyk, and Kevin Shattenkirk all reached out to Chris Stewart, looking for guidance.

Later in the day on Thursday, more than 100 players spoke with Evander Kane and Matt Dumba on a conference call, according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun.

Aliu was one of several Black players to criticize the NHL on Twitter for its inaction the night before.

Sharks forward Evander Kane commented that “it’s incredibly insulting as a Black man in hockey the lack of action and acknowledgment from the NHL, just straight-up insulting.”

Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, who was the first NHL player to kneel during the national anthem, observed that NBA players were leading. “✊🏾WE STAND WITH YOU AND DEMAND CHANGE!” he added.

Dumba added in an interview with Sportsnet that the “NHL is always last to the party on these topics.”

“I hope guys find it in them to stand up,” Dumba added. “You can’t keep coming to the minority players every time there’s a situation like this. The white players in our league need to have answers for what they’re seeing in society right now, and where they stand. I know there’s a lot of them that are good people. There’s a lot of good people in hockey. But the silence is as bad as violence, you know? You have to step out, really hear people’s stories, have that empathy and understanding of where they’re coming from, and why we’re doing what we’re doing right now.”

Thursday afternoon, the HDA formally asked the NHL to postpone its games on Thursday “to allow players and fans to reflect on what happened and to send a message that human rights must take priority over sport.”

Several NHL players publicly powerfully showed support for the postponement of games including Dominik Kubalik and PK Subban.

“I can’t speak for the NHL or for other players, but I support the players, I support the teams, and the leagues who boycotted,” Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik said according to TSN. “I really hope it’s going to make a difference.”

Subban added that the “actions from those (supportive) quotes and conversations is where the real change happens.”

Screenshot courtesy of Sportsnet

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