Sharks’ Ward will play but undecided on anthem stance
Might not stand for national anthem to increase awareness of inequality
Joel Ward is expected to make his preseason debut Thursday night when the Sharks visit Anaheim to play the Ducks.
Whether he’ll stand or take a knee during the national anthem remains unknown.
A day after he told this newspaper he would contemplate taking a knee during the anthem, joining hundreds of other professional athletes who have done the same to protest racial injustice, Ward said Wednesday he hasn’t decided what action he might take.
“I haven’t ruled it out and what I kind of said yesterday, just to kind of put more thought into it, for sure,” Ward said.
Ward said he hoped any action he took would not only increase awareness of inequality, but keep the overall message involved from being distorted.
“(Colin) Kaepernick did a protest to bring that awareness of police brutality ... I think people kind of got away from that focus a little bit,” said Ward, who has not played in San Jose’s first three preseason games after he had surgery in the offseason to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
“For a guy like myself that’s experienced racism in the past and other issues, I think it’s to help support and to help out, especially with what’s been going on as of late.”
Ward, a Canadian who is the son of Barbadian immigrants, is one of about 30 black players in the NHL and would become the league’s first player take a knee during the anthem as a symbol of protest.
Sunday, as a response to inflammatory comments made by President Donald Trump, more than 200 NFL players took a knee during the anthem and others interlocked arms as a show of unity.
Ward, who came to the Sharks as a free agent in 2015, recently met with general manager Doug Wilson and coach Pete DeBoer to discuss what actions he might take. Wednesday, the Sharks voiced their support for Ward’s right to express himself.
“Joel met with us and was very clear that this has nothing to do with disrespect to the flag, the country, the military,” DeBoer said Wednesday. “This is about bringing awareness to an issue that’s very important to him. You have to respect that, and I think we all do. We support him in that piece of however he chooses to do that.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the way I would do it, or any of the other guys would do it. But we also haven’t lived in his shoes, either. Whatever that ends up being, it ends up being. But he was very clear. This is a good man, and we all trust and believe that this has nothing to do with any disrespect.”
Sharks defenseman and Minnesota native Paul Martin, who also came to the Sharks as a free agent in 2015, said, “To me, everyone has different experiences and different opinions. You never really know what someone else has really gone through unless you’re them.”
Ward said he experienced racism first-hand both as a child growing up just outside Toronto and as an NHL player in American cities.
Of note,Ward became a target of racist attacks when he scored a seriesclinching goal for the Washington Capitals in overtime of Game 7 against the Boston Bruins in 2012.
“These issues do happen on a day-to-day (basis),” Ward said Wednesday. “Just trying to do my part and show support.”