from Erik Gudbranson at Sportsnet,

I’d like to begin by saying that I hope everyone is doing all right during these difficult times. My thoughts over the past few months have been with you all.

But that is not what this article is about. It’s about an issue I’ve been wrestling with for a long time: the violence and systemic racism faced by Black people.

It’s an issue that has deeply concerned me, but one that I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t ever felt confident enough to speak about publicly. If I’m honest, I’m still nervous to write this, because I know there’s still so much for me to learn and I’m afraid to say the wrong thing.

So, why now? What’s changed? It’s a very fair question and my answer sucks. Basically, I was too consumed with what I was doing to act on my feelings, something I’m very disappointed about. But in the past three months, being away from hockey has allowed me time to reflect a lot. To learn more and talk about issues and the current state of the world unselfishly.

And now I’m determined to stop being quiet when I know that speaking up in the name of racial justice is the right thing to do. I’m hoping that by speaking up now, I’ll encourage other people to do the same.

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