Braden Holtby strongly condemned anti-black racism in a powerful message Wednesday.
The Washington Capitals goaltender opened his statement on Twitter by pointing out that a local landmark, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, is named after a former U.S. president who enacted racist policies.
Holtby referred to the bridge as "monstrous" and called Wilson "an outspoken white supremacist."
"The bridge sits there mocking every black person who has to travel across it while reading that name as a reminder of how much pain has been inflicted on their race," he wrote.
Holtby then denounced systemic racism and racial injustice as a whole.
"The injustice and hatred-infused power we've seen recently is anything but new," he wrote. "To say there have been improvements is very naive. In today's age of information and communication at our fingertips, the change is far too minimal.
"The amount of inhumane, hate-based, racial crimes that have been committed in the centuries of American history is enough to make your skin crawl in discomfort and your eyes well with tears. Yet it's still happening. In 2020. It should never happen. Yet it still is."
The Capitals netminder also offered words of encouragement for protesters and closed by rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign slogan while affirming his own support for the black community.
"For everyone standing up and marching for what is right, your voices are not going unheard," Holtby wrote. "You're bringing pride to every person who believes in the universal value of a human being. Keep fighting, and I vow to demonstrate and educate what you are fighting for. Not only to myself but my children, family, and anyone else who will listen. Because America will never be great until all BLACK lives matter."
Holtby is Canadian but has spent his entire 10-year career with the Capitals. He declined an invitation to the White House last year, saying, "I've got to stay true to my values."
Numerous players and teams have issued statements over the past week following the killing of George Floyd. Floyd, a black man from Minneapolis, died in police custody after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes while holding Floyd in handcuffs on the ground.
Floyd's death has sparked protests across the United States.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport has issued a lifetime ban to former Chicago-area youth coach Tom "Chico" Adrahtas following its investigation into sexual abuse allegations against him, according to The Athletic's Katie Strang.
Adrahtas is prohibited from coaching in any USA Hockey-sanctioned event or any activity that involves a national governing body under the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic committee's purview.
In a Feb. 21 article in The Athletic, multiple former players said Adrahtas sexually abused them.
The SafeSport investigation into Adrahtas found that he "engaged in a pattern of exploitative and abusive sexual misconduct with multiple young athletes he coached, egregiously abusing a position of authority to manipulate and deceive young male athletes he mentored and coached, for sexual purposes." It also states that evidence "overwhelmingly" reveals that Adrahtas exploited at least six other athletes in addition to the three interviewed by SafeSport officials.
USA Hockey president Jim Smith remains under investigation for his handling of the allegations. Smith is accused of turning a blind eye to the allegations against Adrahtas during his time with the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois (AHAI), which included a stint as president from 1985-88.
For years, AHAI officials refused to nominate Adrahtas into the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame because of "innuendo and rumor" about abuse. However, in 2010, Mike Mullally, who was the association's president at the time, said a group that included Smith decided to "put him through anyway." Adrahtas took himself out of consideration after Mullally confronted him about allegations from a former player.
USA Hockey was not officially informed of his admission to the Hall of Fame because Smith and Tony Rossi - who were both Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame committee members - were high-ranking members of USA Hockey at the time and already aware of the situation, Mullally said.
Adrahtas also coached at Robert Morris University - which is a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) - for 10 years from 2008 to 2018. Adrahtas abruptly resigned after SafeSport's investigation began in 2018 following former junior player Mike Sacks' letter to the ACHA detailing sexual abuse by Adrahtas over a 20-month span when he was a teenager.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport was established in 2017 following the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal, during which former doctor Larry Nassar was accused of assaulting over 250 young women and girls.
Sidney Crosby has joined the growing number of NHL players speaking out against racial injustice and police brutality.
"What happened to George Floyd cannot be ignored," the Pittsburgh Penguins captain wrote in a statement from his foundation Wednesday. "Racism that exists today in all forms is not acceptable. While I am not able to relate to the discrimination that black and minority communities face daily, I will listen and educate myself on how I can help make a difference.
"Together, we will find solutions through necessary dialogue and a collective effort."
Crosby is the latest player to offer thoughts in the wake of Floyd's death in police custody, which has led to protests throughout the United States.
San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane, who's black, called last week forwhite athletes "like Tom Brady and Sidney Crosby" to make their voices heard about "what is right, and clearly in this case, what is unbelievably wrong."
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis on May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes while Floyd was handcuffed on the ground.
A multitude of athletes and the majority of North America's pro sports teams have since issued statements condemning systemic racism and inequality.
With 16 teams now set to compete for the final eight postseason spots during the play-in round if the 2019-20 NHL campaign resumes this summer, some clubs will surely be leaning on a netminder to help secure a playoff berth.
Let's take a look at five goalies who can steal a play-in series.
Connor Hellebuyck
Jonathan Kozub / National Hockey League / Getty
The Winnipeg Jets' success this season started and ended with Hellebuyck. He was the team's backbone, carrying the Jets and keeping them in games, all while playing behind a decrepit defense and an injury-riddled squad.
He started the second-most games and finished second in wins. Hellebuyck also put together a 31-21-5 record alongside a .922 save percentage and a 2.57 goals-against average. He did that while facing the league's most shots (1,796) and high-danger shots (509).
The Jets only took on their play-in series opponent, the Calgary Flames, once this season, winning 2-1 in overtime. Hellebuyck shined, turning away 29 of 30 shots. After a hectic season, he would enter the play-in series following a ton of rest, and with a healthy team in front of him.
Pegged as a Vezina Trophy favorite this season, the 27-year-old can absolutely help steer the Jets past Calgary and into the playoffs.
Carey Price
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
The unfair advantage the Montreal Canadiens could hold during a short play-in series with Price in net led to plenty of debate. Players have made their fear of Price clear, and they ultimately know best.
While he shows flashes of his former brilliance, Price's play this season was far from what's expected of him. Montreal has worked him hard, with Price leading the league in starts (58), and he's managed a mediocre 27-25-6 record, along with a .909 save percentage and a 2.79 goals-against average. He also trailed only Hellebuyck in shots faced (1,755) and high-danger shots against (469).
Similar to the Jets, the Canadiens will only succeed in their play-in series and take down the Pittsburgh Penguins if Price is in top form.
Sergei Bobrovsky
Eliot J. Schechter / National Hockey League / Getty
Coming into the 2019-20 season, expectations were sky-high for Bobrovsky. He inked a monster seven-year, $70-million contract with the Florida Panthers, and the Russian was seen as the team's missing piece to become a contender. Things didn't go as planned in the Sunshine State, and Bobrovsky failed to find his footing from the get-go.
Entering the season as the league's second-highest-paid goalie, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner posted one of his worst career campaigns, going 23-19-6 with a .900 save percentage and 3.23 goals-against average. Shifting to a new team isn't always easy, and he may have just needed time to settle.
The Panthers dropped all three of their contests this season against the New York Islanders, their play-in series opponent, but fingers can't be pointed at the goaltending. Bobrovsky started two of the three games, logging solid performances while stopping 34 of 36 shots in one outing, and 27 of 29 in the other.
Jacob Markstrom
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Markstrom was enjoying a career-best season for the Vancouver Canucks before getting injured in late February. With time on his side to fully recover and not rush back, Markstrom will look to pick up where he left off if the Canucks-Wild play-in series goes ahead.
The 30-year-old appeared in 43 games this campaign, compiling a 23-16-4 record and a .918 save percentage and 2.75 goals-against average. Before his injury, which would have sidelined him for most of what remained of the season, Markstrom's name was floating around in Vezina talks. He furthered his candidacy with a monster 49-save shutout against the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 12.
Markstrom faced the Wild three times this season, and he recorded only one good performance, allowing four goals on 37 shots in one loss, and three goals on 28 shots in the other defeat. He stopped 23 of 24 shots in the win.
The Canucks ranked fourth in the league in shots against per game (33.3), and if their defense can't suppress the Wild's offense, Markstrom will need to step up to the plate.
Elvis Merzlikins
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
It's not entirely clear how the Blue Jackets will approach their goaltending situation for the team's potential play-in series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Joonas Korpisalo could get the nod over Merzlikins to kick things off, or the two might split starts. However, Merzlikins put together a great rookie season, and he should be the go-to guy for the time being.
Merzlikins dropped the first eight contests he appeared in this season, but then he excelled when Korpisalo suffered an injury, and the Latvian netminder became the club's undisputed starter. At one point he went on an eight-game win streak, which included five shutouts. He produced a 13-9-8 record, with a .923 save percentage and 2.35 goals-against average in 33 games.
The 26-year-old has yet to face the Leafs in his career, but Merzlikins showed this season he can catch fire at any moment. He'll get the opportunity to continue his impressive rookie season, and will need to bring his A-game against a potent Toronto offense.
Akim Aliu believes it's time for society, and particularly white-dominant hockey culture, to educate itself regarding racism and what minorities deal with daily.
In a TSN interview on Tuesday alongside San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane, the former NHLer shared his perspective on the protests that have swept across the United States after George Floyd died while in police custody in Minneapolis last week. He discussed how change for the better can begin.
"I think it starts with educating yourself," Aliu said. "Find a way. It's 2020, just look at the history, look at what our ancestors have been through to get to where we are now. Hockey's a tough sport to sell that message to because, for the most part, you need to come from privilege to be able to sustain economically, to be able to play the game.
"But I feel like if you take that upon yourself to learn and educate yourself on what black people, people of color, and indigenous people have been through to get to where they are now, and still to be treated like this, there isn't much more we can take. I think it's just come to a boiling point with what we're seeing around the world, but I think the first step is starting to educate yourself, try to understand what it's like in our shoes for a day, a week, or even a month, and they'll realize it's not something they want to be apart of."
In November, Aliu shared that then-Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters called him the N-word during their time together in the AHL. Peters admitted to using the offensive language and ultimately resigned.
Aliu has since been publicly involved in pushing for more inclusivity in the sport at all levels. He met with commissioner Gary Bettman in early December to share his stories and ideas for change, and then Aliu wrote a powerful piece on The Players' Tribune in May detailing the racial abuse he dealt with his entire career.
Madison Square Garden Company chairman James Dolan, who owns the NBA's New York Knicks and NHL's New York Rangers, issued a second email to his employees Tuesday defending the lack of a public statement regarding George Floyd's death in police custody.
Yesterday, I made a sincere attempt to provide my perspective on a very difficult issue, one that has no easy answers. I know how important this topic is to so many and I do not want there to be any confusion about where I as an individual, or we as a company stand. So let me be clear: we vehemently condemn and reject racism against anyone, period. It is against every value that we hold dear.
My point yesterday was about actions, and the importance of living your values. At Madison Square Garden, we have worked hard to build an environment of inclusion and mutual respect and those are the values that we try to live every day. Racism is born of ignorance and it's up to each of us to understand that the person working beside you is your equal without regard to color, or any of the other qualities that make us diverse. And any injustice to one person is an injustice to everyone.
This is how we at MSG fight racism. We start with ourselves, and through our actions, we define who we are. That is how we can be an example to the wider world. That was the point of my message yesterday.
I am proud of the environment you have created here. I know that this is a difficult time, and that we will always need to communicate with one another on the hard issues. I will continue to do as much as I can to help make our community even better. I know you will also.
Dolan issued on Monday an internal memo to employees, which attempted to explain why the company and its teams have remained silent.
"As companies in the business of sports and entertainment, however, we are not any more qualified than anyone else to offer our opinion on social matters. What's important is how we operate," he wrote.
The Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, and Atlanta Hawks are the only three NBA teams that have yet to release a public statement amid growing protests across North America in the fight against racial injustice.
However, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich criticized President Donald Trump on Monday for a lack of leadership during the widespread unrest, and the Hawks shared an interview with head coach Lloyd Pierce, during which he spoke about living in fear as a black man in the U.S.
Knicks players and employees are "furious" that the team hasn't issued a public statement, leading to a meeting Tuesday without Dolan to discuss his internal communications, reports Pablo S. Torre of ESPN.
In the NHL, only the Rangers and Ottawa Senators have not issued their own statements. The Senators, however, did retweet a message from center Chris Tierney that cited "an inequitable society that enables systemic racism."
Former NHL forward Georges Laraque spoke Tuesday about the ongoing protests across North America in the fight against racism.
"I think racism, if we want it to stop it, it starts with one another, all ourselves. Because if you look at racism, yeah, we can say that some white people are racist towards black people, but there's even black people that are racist," Laraque said on "Oilers Now" with Bob Stauffer.
"If we want things to change, we all have to look at one another in the mirror and tell ourselves, 'OK, what kind of person am I?'" he added. "If I want change in society, I'm gonna start with myself. Accepting the differences because we're all one, we're all equal, and I gotta raise my kid the same way. Because until we all do so, if we don't raise all our kids the right way, things are never going to change and in 10 years we're going to have the same discussion."
Laraque, who retired in 2010, said he experienced racist taunts throughout his career, primarily during his years prior to entering the NHL.
He added that while posting messages on social media to raise awareness is helpful, there won't be actual progress until real action is taken.
"We have to look at one another and say, 'You know what? I'm going to be a change today, I'm going to be a good influence around people that are around me, so that this chain of racism that keeps going is going to stop on my side, on my family, in my circle of friends,'" he said.
