Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Social Justice Disussion

08/27/2020 at 3:55am EDT

from Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com

NHL players and coaches voiced their support for NBA teams who opted to boycott games on Wednesday to protest systemic racism and police brutality.

The protests, which were also carried out in the WNBA, and impacted some games in Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer, were spurred by the police shooting Sunday of a Black man, Jacob Blake, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The first team to boycott a game was the Milwaukee Bucks, who were scheduled to play the Orlando Magic in a playoff game at 4:30 p.m. ET. All three games on the NBA schedule were eventually postponed.

"We support the fight against racism and injustice," Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said after a 7-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round. "There are different ways to express that fight and obviously NBA players expressed their opinions by boycotting the games today. We support it."

continued

Much more below...

from Dan Mizutani of the Pioneer Press,

It started with the Philadelphia Flyers playing the New York Islanders, continued with the Boston Bruins squaring off against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and ended with the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Dallas Stars.

Meanwhile, the NBA postponed all of its playoff games for the day, the WNBA did the same with its regular season games, and the MLB had a few teams postpone games.

The contrast of responses was enough to make Wild defenseman Matt Dumba speak up. He vented for about 10 minutes on Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver and condemned the NHL for not doing more.

“We are always last to the party on these topics,” Dumba said. “It’s kind of sad and disheartening for me and for members of the (Hockey Diversity Alliance), and I’m sure for other guys across the league. If no one stands up and does anything, it’s the same thing. It’s just that silence. You’re just outside looking in on actually being leaders and evoking real change when there’s such an opportunity to do so.”

read on

from Scott Burnside of The Athletic,

Twenty-seven seconds.

That’s how long the NHL felt was appropriate to spend in acknowledging yet another shooting of an unarmed Black man in America.

Twenty-seven seconds at the start of the Tampa Bay Lightning-Boston Bruins game Wednesday night in Toronto.

On the video scoreboard were the words “End Racism.”

Twenty-seven seconds from the moment the public address announcer began the script for the NHL’s moment of reflection to the end of the statement just before the national anthems were sung.

In Orlando, NBA players from the Milwaukee Bucks made history by refusing to play a playoff game, and their opponents, the Orlando Magic, agreed there should be no game. Other teams scheduled to play games Wednesday night quickly followed suit and the NBA agreed to reschedule the contests.

continued ($$$)

Evander Kaneon the NHL's response to social justice.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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