By Canadian Press

Hockey Diversity Alliance asks NHL to suspend Thursday’s playoff games

Aug 27, 2020 | 10:57 AM

A group advocating for diversity in hockey is calling for the NHL to suspend Thursday’s playoff games in the aftermath of a police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin last weekend.

San Jose Sharks winger Evander Kane says the Hockey Diversity Alliance has formally requested the NHL suspend a pair of post-season games scheduled for Toronto and Edmonton.

Kane says the Hockey Diversity Alliance feels a suspension would send “a clear message that human rights take priority over sports.”

The NHL played all three of its playoff games Wednesday, two of which started after the NBA postponed all three of its post-season contests as players protested social injustice.

Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the WNBA also postponed some games Wednesday.

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The Hockey Diversity Alliance was formed earlier this year by seven current and former NHL players in an effort to “to eradicate racism and intolerance in hockey.”

The New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers are scheduled to play at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night, while the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights are set to meet at Edmonton’s Rogers Place. Both second-round series are tied 1-1.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2020.

The Canadian Press