The Vancouver Canucks Thursday’s playoff game has been postponed after reports that players from the Hockey Diversity Alliance pushed to cancel all the evening's games to protest racial injustice.
The National Hockey League is the latest professional sports association to cancel its games after racial tensions in the United States flared up again this week after an unarmed Black man in Kenosha, Wisc., was seen in a video shot seven times in the back by police officers while trying to enter his car.
"No NHL games will be played tonight,” ESPN reporter Emily Kaplan wrote on Twitter earlier today.
“Sounds like the Hockey Diversity Alliance, with a strong push from Evander Kane and Matt Dumba, convinced players to take a step back.”
Here's the latest on what's going on in the NHL...
After a formal request from @theHDA2020, very real possibility tonight's games get postponed. https://t.co/iZUslfipK4
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) August 27, 2020
Larry Brooks, who covers the NHL for the New York Post, noted the Vancouver Canucks were vocal about not wanting to play Thursday night.
Told that the Canucks were the driving force behind ultimate position taken by players not to play...
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) August 27, 2020
On Wednesday, Aug. 26, the NBA postponed three scheduled playoff games, with the Milwaukee Bucks kicking off the boycott by refusing to leave their locker room for the game against the Orlando Magic. The players are demanding that lawmakers act to address police brutality and racial injustice.
Players and teams from MLB, the WNBA, MLS and pro tennis sat out events Wednesday night, and NBA players and coaches met for nearly three hours to determine the next steps, including whether the season should continue.
— With files from the Associated Press
