TORONTO (NEWS 1130) – The National Hockey League is being accused by many of doing the bare minimum as it’s called out for failing to cancel games in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protests.
As a number of sports leagues, including the NBA, MLS, and MLB, went dark on Wednesday night, the NHL proceeded with its scheduled games.
Hockey’s decision to instead hold a “moment of reflection” at two of the games didn’t go over well with many players, athletes, fans, and analysts.
Players, commentators, and fans weigh in on the NHL’s choice to play Wednesday’s games while much of the sports world went dark in support of Black Lives Matter protests: more on @NEWS1130 this morning. https://t.co/qeMdflcxPF
— Ash ‘I work from home now’ Kelly (@AshDKelly) August 27, 2020
Former player and current Sportsnet broadcaster Kelly Hrudey said the league was offside in its decision.
“I don’t think we should be here. I think the NHL should postpone the games. I really feel that we should be more supportive of Black Lives Matter,” he said.
“I’d prefer to be having this conversation with my family. I’ve said, many months ago, when I made my video about Black Lives Matter, it means something to me,” Hrudey said while speaking to his Sportsnet panel.
His comments came as a number of sports stars continue to protest racial inequality, the latest catalyst being the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the weekend.
In an appearance on Sportsnet 650 on Wednesday, Minnesota Wild defenceman Matt Dumba — who raised a fist to highlight social and racial justice issues during the anthems of his qualifying-series game against the Vancouver Canucks earlier this month — said the league’s decision to hold playoff games Wednesday, despite cancellations across other leagues, is “disheartening,” but expected.
“I know what’s going to happen, and I don’t think much is going to happen from that standpoint. But it’s just back to it, I don’t know, the NHL we’re always late to the party, especially on these topics, so it’s sorta sad and disheartening for me and other members of the HDA, and I’m sure other guys across the league,” said Dumba.
He and San Jose left winger Evander Kane are faces of the Hockey Diversity Alliance and are some of hockey’s strongest proponents for the need to address anti-Black racism in the sport.
Actually it’s incredibly insulting as a black man in hockey the lack of action and acknowledgement from the @nhl, just straight up insulting. https://t.co/1KrpUvFhaQ
Kane told Sportsnet’s David Amber on Wednesday that it’s “disappointing” the NHL has yet to acknowledge Blake.
“It’s another instance, unfortunately, that still hasn’t been acknowledged and we’re about, what? Three or four days into this video being released, or this incident occurring? And I still haven’t seen or heard anything in regards to it, so that’s disappointing and as a Black player in this league, it’s even more disappointing,” Kane said.
Blake, 29, was shot several times in the back by officers on Sunday. The shooting happened in front of his children and left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Players the driving force
The decision to cancel and postpone games was largely led by players who said they have had enough of racial injustice, and that more needs to be done to address the issue.
The NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks refused to play a playoff game against the Orlando Magic in the wake of the Blake shooting.
“We’re tired of the killings and the injustice,” Bucks guard George Hill told The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears following the Bucks’ decision to boycott.
The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder announced shortly after the Bucks’ decision that they would also be boycotting their game Wednesday, and the Lakers and Trail Blazers quickly followed suit ahead of their own Game 5 as players step away from the court in protest.
It’s unclear if anything will be done ahead of the Vancouver Canucks match up against the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday night.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
