B’s, NHLers entering a different kind of fray
Playoffs resume today with Bruins-Lightning
If you’re wondering if Sean Kuraly is ready to play for Saturday’s Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, sorry Bruins’ fans, you’ll just have to wait till Saturday morning. Same goes for any other hockey-related matter.
The Bruins and other NHL players in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles kept their focus, respectfully but pointedly, on the social issues for which they have decided to essentially strike for two days, pushing back the B’s-Lightning Game 4 from Friday night to Saturday at noon, Game 5 from Sunday to Monday at 7 p.m. and the potential Games 6 and 7 to Wednesday and Thursday.
And while they were less than 24 hours away from a pivotal game in a series that will have a big say in whether their Stanley Cup hopes can be fulfilled, the minds of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, two of the most passionate competitors you’ll find, were elsewhere on Friday.
After speaking with other players from within their living confines in Toronto as well as representatives from the recently created Hockey Diversity Alliance, their focus was bringing attention racial issues within their sport and in society in general.
“I think right now it’s about any type of social injustice and racism, but obviously hockey is close to our hearts and right now it’s about supporting our fellow players and be there for them and supporting them,” said Bergeron, who earlier in the summer donated $25,000 to both the Boston NAACP and The Multiethnic Center of Quebec in his native province. “So obviously within the hockey world, we definitely want to accomplish some things. But then also we want to go broader than that and help in society as well and try to bring change.”
The social justice sphere is a new one for most NHL players. There are exceptions to every rule, but hockey players tend to be deeply appreciative of the life that the game they love has afforded them. Rocking the boat has not usually been in the group DNA.
And Marchand said that this action is not about politics.
“I think that’s one thing that people continually mix up. They bring politics into these situations,” said Marchand. “This is not what this is about. We’re not being political. That’s not the goal and it’s not what we’re here for. There needs to be changes made throughout society and it’s bigger than hockey right now and it’s bigger than sports. It’s about people being equal and being the same and being treated the same. It’s just about making changes. People want to point in different directions and make it about something that it’s not. That’s what we want to avoid. We don’t want to make it about a political statement. We want to make it about people being better and making changes, getting to the point where we all see each other as being equals and that’s what it’s about.”
Wanting to remain apolitical is an understandable aspiration, but it’s probably not a realistic one. Good people who detest racism can have wildly different views on how to address it, especially when it comes to policing. It was Marchand who last month stepped forward to defend teammate Tuukka Rask from online criticism for wearing a Boston Police hat during a televised interview, something that would not have drawn an ounce of attention a couple of months ago.
And while many have applauded the players for what they’re doing, they’ll soon discover – if they haven’t already – that, no matter what they do in the social justice realm, it won’t be enough for some. The players have already been widely castigated for not falling immediately in line with the wildcat strike started by the Milwaukee Bucks.
On the flip side, there are other people who’ve been eagerly waiting all summer for sports to return to help bring back a sense of calm and normalcy in this summer of street violence and upheaval. And, of course, there is the shut-up-and-skate sentiment held by many fans, some who probably have season tickets at the Garden.
Pleasing everybody in our current landscape will not be possible.
“Listen, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but it’s very evident and clear that this is bigger than sports and people need to put that aside,” said Marchand of the stick-to-sports mentality. “Sports is a luxury. It’s a luxury to watch this game and to play this game. But when it becomes about people’s safety and people’s lives, people feeling uncomfortable to be in their own skin. It’s much more important than that. I understand people want to watch the games and I understand people want to see (the games). But it’s too bad. We have bigger things that we care about and what we want to improve upon and the people we want to support and that’s what matters.”
Bergeron said the wheels were set in motion for the work stoppage almost immediately after the team’s loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday night. Both Bergeron and Marchand were impressed with how heated rivals in the midst of a playoff series dropped everything and came together.
“We had some discussions then, went to bed and we already had some meetings planned with Tampa Bay early in the morning and it snowballed from there,” said Bergeron. “We met with the Islanders and then Philly joined (on Thursday). … We had had some good organic conversations about making the right decision and supporting what’s right. At the end of the day it’s to realize that it was great and powerful to see what happened (Thursday), to see all those four teams, obviously battling on the ice for one thing, but then we all realized that it’s beyond sports right now and it’s about human rights and supporting our fellow players in this league. It was great to hear from them as well, (Vegas right wing) Ryan Reaves and everyone else in Edmonton, but also the guys from the Hockey Diversity Alliance. To hear from everyone, everyone coming together, I thought it was a very powerful day.”
Where the players take it from here – beyond the symbolism and gestures – is up to them.
But they should know that the work space they plan to inhabit is a hard-hat area.