Jason Franson / The Canadian Press via AP
An End Racism sign is displayed before Game 3 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series between the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta.
Published Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020 | 12:29 p.m.
Updated 5 hours, 43 minutes ago
Following the lead of sports leagues across the country that protested the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, NHL players decided to postpone tonight’s two playoff games, including Game 3 of the second round between the Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks, and all games on Friday, the players’ association and league announced today. Games will resume on Saturday, with details to come later.
“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,” the union and league said in a joint statement. “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 Golden Knights released a statement of their own.
“We understand this one action will not alone solve a deep-rooted systemic problem, however our hope is that it helps shine a brighter light on the issue of racial equality and helps marginalized voices that need to be heard at this time.”
The Aces also announced their game tonight against the Seattle Storm would not be played, as the WNBA postponed all of its games.
“In light of continued violence against Black women and men, the Las Vegas Aces players have decided not to play tonight,” the team said in a statement. “Today, our league takes a moment to reflect, recommitting itself to engage, to educate, to amplify and to speak for those who can no longer speak. The Las Vegas Aces stand in solidarity with our players and our league.”
The NBA, WNBA, MLB and MLS all postponed games Wednesday night to protest the shooting of Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was shot seven times in the back by police last week. Blake, 29, is paralyzed, his lawyers said.
Protests have swelled across the country and permeated the sports world on Wednesday, when the Milwaukee Bucks, whose arena is about 40 miles from Kenosha, refused to play their NBA playoff game against the Orlando Magic. The Magic agreed to postpone the game.
The Bucks issued a statement condemning Blake’s shooting, calling on the Wisconsin state Legislature to “reconvene and take up meaningful measures to address issues of police accountability, brutality and criminal justice reform,” and asking citizens to vote on Nov. 3.
All of the NBA’s playoff games for Wednesday and today were postponed.
Other leagues quickly followed suit. The WNBA postponed all of its games on Wednesday. MLS postponed five games, and MLB postponed three games, including the Milwaukee Brewers’ game against the Cincinnati Reds. In all cases, the postponements were spurred by the players.
The NHL continued with its two playoff games, which included a “moment of reflection” before the Bruins-Lightning game in Toronto and nothing before the Avalanche-Stars game in Edmonton.
The Golden Knights have been one of the teams at the forefront of social justice issues. Forward Ryan Reaves, goalie Robin Lehner and Dallas forwards Tyler Seguin and Jason Dickinson took a knee before their round-robin game on Aug. 3.
Reaves nor Lehner were both vocal about their intentions after they knelt.
“Everyone’s talking about conversation, education and listening, but it’s time to start doing something, not just let this be a news cycle, forget about it and do it all over again,” Lehner said. “It’s time for whites to step into battle with our brothers and sisters and make some change and stop talking about it and actually do something.”
Seguin and Dickinson said the Stars made a decision to play even as information trickled in about other leagues postponing games. They said they were not aware the game in Toronto had a “moment of reflection” and theirs in Edmonton did not.
“(Dickinson) and I did (kneel) our first game, so I fully support what MLB and the NBA is doing. We just had the decision tonight to play the game,” Seguin said. “We look forward to showing our actions more in the coming days.”
“(Seguin) and I take a knee and we get backlash that we are not Americans, we shouldn’t be speaking up for something like this,” Dickinson said. “But we believe that we’re close enough as Canadians that we have a right to say something and in Canada, we face or have seen similar things. I think it’s difficult to appreciate things as outsiders to America, but we try to give our two cents where we can. You know what, tonight just didn’t seem like that was the right call to do.”
