Evander Kane calls out Maple Leafs on how they handled addressing racism!

San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane has expressed his disappointment and anger following the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, but is also calling on white athletes to speak up.

After he did so, many of his fellow players across the National Hockey League took a stand on the issue, however, Kane felt the need to call out one team in particular, the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

In the last article from Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic, Kane, who was interviewed a few hours before the Maple Leafs tweeted a statement Sunday evening calling for change, wonders why it took them so long to react. 

He pointed out how Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the firm that owns Toronto FC, the Toronto Raptors and Maple Leafs, showcased discrepancies in how it handled addressing racism. Kane asked why the Raptors had a statement ready and prepared that was released Saturday night but why the Leafs — when they are owned by the same group — had not put out one of their own at that time.

“You have certain people that are willing to have a conversation and they would have been willing to have it a long time ago,” Kane said. “At the same time, part of the reason that players of colors and minority players are scared to have the conversation and knew maybe someone else was not ready to have that conversation is the culture of our sport and the culture of our game. When I saw (the Raptors’ statement), I was a little surprised. I know there are owners out there that own multiple franchises in the same city and found I found it interesting the Toronto Raptors issued a statement, which was great.

“But the Leafs are owned by the same company and ownership group and haven’t done it yet. People might say ‘you’re nitpicking’ and ‘you’re looking for something that is not there,’ that it’s bullshit. It does not come off that way to me or to us. It speaks to the culture of hockey at the highest level and the people in positions who are at the highest level.”

As you can see, Kane isn’t afraid to call out just anybody and let’s hope teams and players will realize the hard work he is doing to help change the way we do things in society.