Minnesota Wild defender Matt Dumba and San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane have criticized the NHL for its response to Jacob Blake’s shooting, while several NBA, WNBA and MLB games have been postponed as players have decided to don’t show up to protest police brutality.
Dumba was among the NHL players who knelt as the league returned from the coronavirus pandemic that completely disrupted the sport. He told Sportsnet he was put off by the league’s response.
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“NHL is always the latest at the party on these topics,” said Dumba, who is a founding member of the Hockey Diversity Alliance. “It’s a little sad and disheartening for me and the members of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, and I’m sure for the other guys in the league. But if no one gets up and does something, then it’s the same thing. That silence. You are just outside, actually watching being a leader and evoking real change when you have such an opportunity to do so.
“It’s much bigger than sport. In hockey, this is what it comes back to: you only rely on minority kids to come forward and say it. But what would really have the biggest impact is having strong white leaders of the teams rising and making their 2 cents felt. All the other white kids who grow up watching them, who might be their biggest fans, can look up and say, ‘Wow, if he sees this and tries to stand up and listen, then why am I not too. ? Why do I keep maintaining this ignorance or hatred that I feel towards a subject that I may not know everything about? ‘”
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Kane expressed a similar sentiment in an interview on Sportsnet.
“I’ll be honest, I haven’t heard much about Jacob Blake’s attempted murder. It’s a shame, we’re obviously talking about another unarmed black man who was shot in the back in front of his kids. But again, we’ve had these conversations previously with George Floyd killing to continue the conversation, foster the conversation, everyone wants to be better and make sure we’re more vocal and better moving forward. Here’s another example, sadly, but it’s also another example of the disrespect for our league, our players and our media covering our game, ”Kane said.
Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars players also said the league needed to do more.
“We support and applaud the NBA,” said Nazem Kadri of Colorado. “I understand this is a problem that has been going on for too long … Eventually the words get stale. It’s about action and making a difference.”
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Tyler Seguin of Dallas added: “I support what’s happening, I support the movement. And I think hockey honestly needs to do more. But I think we can all show our actions in different ways.”
No NHL games were postponed even though a moment of silence was maintained.
