A day after the NBA, WNBA, MLB, and MLS games ended in a historic moment for player action, the NHL has agreed to “take a step back” and the NHL Playoffs in 2020 will stop until Saturday in the wake of ‘ the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin over the weekend.
In its statement, the NHL acknowledged a player-led move – sparked on Wednesday night and continued throughout the day – to step back and stop games until Saturday with the four affected games to be replayed at a later date. The statement defines the injustice faced by Black and Brown communities, and that “the tragedies with Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others require that we recognize this moment.”
The full statement is below:
After much discussion, NHL players believe the best course of action would be to take a step back and not play tonight’s and tomorrow’s games as planned. The NHL supports the players’ decision and will reschedule those four games starting Saturday and adjusting the rest of the Second Round schedule thereafter.
Black and brown communities continue to create real, painful experiences. The NHL and NHLPA recognize that much work still needs to be done before we can play an appropriate role in a discussion focused on diversity, inclusion and social justice.
We understand that the tragedies involving Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others require that we acknowledge this moment. We promise to work to use our sport to influence positive change in society.
The NHLPA and NHL are committed to working to promote more inclusive and hospitable environments within our arenas, offices and beyond.
What happened
On Wednesday, hours before tip-off, the Milwaukee Bucks remained in their locker room, calling their attorney general, and announcing that they would lose their game against the Orlando Magic. The Magic refused to take the win and also chose to sit outside. From there, all NBA teams that were playing – led by the players – opted to postpone games until further notice.
WNBA players from all six teams that played that night arrived on the court wearing shirts with shirts that spelled Jacob Blake with seven bullet wounds in the back in a sign of solidarity. Games began with moments of pause every seven minutes, but the games were eventually disbanded as well. The Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds also canceled their game out of protest and solidarity. In total, three MLB games and five MLS games were postponed for the protests.
Taken together, this was a strike by a player aimed at justice and an end to human rights violations by police.
The NHL also had the opportunity to postpone games on Wednesday night, choosing instead a “moment of reflection“Before the games that night (Tampa Bay vs. Boston, and Colorado vs. Dallas). The moment of reflection in Toronto was four seconds long, while the moment of reflection in Edmonton never happened.
The sentiment was not well received, from fans, media, and players. Sportsnet’s Kelly Hrudey expressed his displeasure with the broadcast of the game with overwhelming support from his colleagues, although the games were still being broadcast. The Hockey Diversity Alliance expressed its frustration over the NHL’s lack of action at key moments, with Matt Dumba saying “we are always bothered by the party, especially on these issues,” during a radio interview in Vancouver for the Games.
The next morning on Thursday, the HDA apparently had talks with more than 100 NHL players and came to a collective decision not to play. The NHL made an attempt to turn the proposal into a league decision, but that notion was immediately refuted with strong words from the players. From 4:30 MT onwards, the players held a press conference (with the room in Edmonton looking much broader than the one in Toronto) to discuss their decision.
The NHL, players and coaches came under heavy fire last year for their cunning action on an otherwise unprecedented day. Alain Vigneault complained that he is a “hockey nerd” who does not have the trouble to pay attention to the outside world, with others deviating responsibility for players and specifically players of color. Finally, the players arrived after several exciting hours on Thursday afternoon, with the Vancouver Canucks in the West and Kevin Shattenkirk of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the East naming Ryan Reaves of the Vegas Golden Knights to to start a dialogue.
In the middle of an entire playoff series, members of the Vancouver Canucks reached out to an opponent – Vegas’ Ryan Reaves – to start the discussion that led to the postponement of games.
Kevin Shattenkirk also called Reaves with other players on the line in the Toronto bubble.
– Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) August 27, 2020
Reaves said he was worried he would be the only one on his game today. But he woke up with a text from @shattdeuces and texts from the @Canucks saying they wanted to talk, and were inspired by it.
– Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) August 27, 2020
The HDA made statements in no uncertain terms along with a set of requirements sketched in a Twitter thread by Rick Westhead, and the players sent reports on games canceled through sources in the media. That all led to pressure on the NHL to make a statement about what they did, and it was probably the most direct statement about racism and human rights they made during the global movement.
We the @TheOfficialHDA have formally the @NHL to suspend all play-off games today. We strongly believe that this sends a clear message that human rights take precedence over sport.
– Evander Kane (@ evanderkane_9) August 27, 2020
The HDA has also made several other requests to the NHL, including that owners of teams offer NHL rinks to use as voting booths for the upcoming U.S. elections. https://t.co/cOklW2Gs1I
– Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) August 27, 2020
From the press conference:
Players were consistent that they would use the next two days to figure things out, and reiterated that they wanted the job and wanted to work with the @TheOfficialHDA.
– Hemal Jhaveri (@hemjhaveri) August 27, 2020
From Colorado Sports
The Colorado Avalanche has released a statement with its support for its players in this action, and shares the statement from the NHL and NHLPA.
The Colorado Rockies have also issued a statement showing their solidarity, following in the footsteps of other athletes and teams.
After reflection and meeting as a group, Rockies players have decided not to play the current game against Arizona Diamondbacks, in solidarity with athletes and sports teams against social injustice.
– Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 27, 2020
