Kane, Ward spearhead effort to make positive change
Evander Kane, Joel Ward and other past and present minority NHL players on Monday announced the formation of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, which aims to eradicate racism and intolerance in the sport.
Kane, a San Jose Sharks’ forward, coheads the Alliance with former NHL player Akim Aliu. Ward, who played for the Sharks from 2015 to 2018 and recently announced his retirement, is part of the executive committee that includes Trevor Daley, Matt Dumba, Wayne Simmonds and Chris Stewart.
“We will strive to be a force for positive change in the sport of hockey not only within our game of hockey, but
also within society,” the organization said in a statement. “Although we will be independent of the NHL, we are hopeful that we will work productively with the league to accomplish these important changes.”
Ward said Monday that discussions about forming this group have gone on for a few months, but ramped up recently after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last month led to protests by hundreds of thousands of people around the country and world. Floyd died May 25 after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes.
“We’ve all seen and experienced racism for ourselves at some level of the game,” Ward told Sportsnet radio in Toronto. “We just actually thought it was important now. With everything that is going on right now, it was time for us to unite and try to improve our game for future generations.”
Following Floyd’s death, Kane called on more high profile white athletes to speak out about the incident and about racism in society, saying in part that they need to have, “the same amount of outrage that I have inside, and using that to voice their opinion, to voice their frustration. Because that’s the only way it’s going to change.”
As of this weekend, more than 100 NHL players had posted messages on social media about the need to eliminate racism in hockey, including Sharks players Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson. Other players such as Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin joined peaceful marches.
Three years ago, Ward contemplated taking a knee during the national anthem before a Sharks’ preseason game, joining other high profile athletes like former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick that were protesting against systemic racism and social injustice. Ward ultimately chose not to kneel, as he felt the message about what the protest actually meant was being lost.
“Years ago, there wasn’t really much movement,” Ward said. “I understood what (Kaepernick) was doing. I think a lot of people didn’t. Nobody really piped up, and now, three years later, it’s catching on.
“Obviously there’s been a death of George Floyd that really brought a spark to a lot of people. It’s good to see that hockey guys are stepping up. The main thing for me is not just putting out statements, but actually (be) encouraged for the long haul to actually make a difference.”
The Hockey Diversity Alliance also hopes to promote diversity in all levels of hockey, and to also make the game more affordable and accessible. Greater education about the racism issues that confront the sport will also be a priority.
At the time he was thinking about kneeling during the anthem, Ward said he spoke to the Sharks about what the gesture was supposed to mean.
“When I was getting asked whether I was going to kneel or stand up, or what I was going to do, everybody lost kind of what the purpose or what the whole story was with the protest,” Ward said. “I had a discussion with my team to kind of tell then that this was the some of the stuff that us as blacks and minorities in the game of hockey and in society, what we go through on a day-to-day.”
The statement from the group also said it will launch a charitable division in the coming weeks.
“In creating our alliance, we are confident we can inspire a new generation of hockey players and fans,” the statement said. “We are hopeful that anyone that puts on skates or sits in the stands will do so without worrying about race, gender or socioeconomic background and will be able to express their culture, identity, values and personality without fear of retribution.”
“We just want a safe place to come to the rink and on a day-to-day, just to live a normal life like everybody else has been doing,” Ward said, “without feeling in fear of police brutality or what have you. We’re looking just to come to the rink and not have any worries and make it a safe place, like everybody else.”