Focus is off the ice
Braydon Coburn was polite but stern in declining to answer the question.
A day after NHL players showed a united front, prompting the league to postpone two nights of playoff games to focus on racial injustice concerns, the Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman wasn’t deviating from the message.
“Thanks for the question. I appreciate that,” Coburn began during the Lightning’s Zoom conference call Friday. “But for the most part, and especially today and yesterday, we kind of want to make sure we keep... the conversation around the issues.”
Questions about lineup changes, power plays and competing on consecutive nights were placed on pause along with Friday’s two scheduled games.
As five players, three of them minorities, stepped in front of an array of microphones, dozens of others assembled in rows behind them in a significant show of support in a league predominantly made up of white players.
“It’s great that the NBA did this and MLB and the WNBA, they have a lot of Black players in those leagues. But for all these athletes in here to take a stand and say, `You know what we see the problem, too, and we stand behind you,’” said Vegas forward Ryan Reaves, who is Black. “I go to war with these guys, and I hate their guts on the ice, but I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. The statement they’ve made today is something that’s going to last.”
“This is a situation where everyone needs to learn and ask questions and do what’s right and be a good person in the world,” Tampa Bay defenseman Luke Schenn said.