Matt Dumba, Evander Kane, Wayne Simmonds and more announce initiative to combat racism in hockey.

Racism in hockey has been a hot topic in 2020, a phenomenon that was started in large part thanks to former National Hockey League defenseman Akim Aliu speaking out against the racism he had personally faced at the hands of now former NHL head coach Bill Peters. That topic only gained more steam as of late thanks in large part to the protest that have no taken place across the world following the murder of African American George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minnesota, and now it seems that some of the NHL's most prominent black athletes have taken it upon themselves to act.

In a press release that was publish on Monday players including the aforementioned Akim Aliu, forward Wayne Simmonds of the New Jersey Devils, forward Evander Kane of the San Jose Sharks, defenseman Tevor Daley, forward Chris Stewart of the Philadelphia Flyers and even former NHL forward Joel Ward announced that they had formed what will now be called the "Hockey Diversity Alliance." In order to preserve their original message, here is today's announcement unedited and in full:

We love our sport. We believe that hockey is the greatest game in the world. 

As minorities who play professional hockey, we have come together to create the Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA). We have appointed Akim Aliu and Evander Kane as our co-heads and our executive committee includes Trevor Daley, Matt Dumba, Wayne Simmonds, Chris Stewart and Joel Ward.

Our Mission is to eradicate racism and intolerance in hockey. We will strive to be a force for positive change not only within our game of hockey, but also within society. Although we will be independent of the NHL, we are hopeful that we will work productively with the league to accomplish these important changes. We believe in the importance of accountability in developing inclusivity and diversity for all involved in our sport, including fans and the league office.

We will promote diversity at all levels of the game through community outreach and engagement with youth and will endeavor to make the game more affordable and accessible. We will also focus on educating the hockey community about the racism issues confronting the sport, while advocating for acceptance and equality. We have partnered with a charitable fiscal sponsor and we will be launching a charitable division in the coming weeks to assist us in achieving our objectives.

In creating our alliance, we are confident we can inspire a new generation of hockey players and fans. We are hopeful that anyone who puts on skates or sits in the stands will do so without worrying about race, gender or socioeconomic background and will be able to express their culture, identity, values, and personality without fear of retribution. We are united in our efforts and promise to work tirelessly to bring about the change our sport and society needs. 

Now some were quick to point out that the cast of people making this announcement were not particularly diverse, they are of course all black men, however it sounds like this is only the first step. Professional hockey player Saroya Tinker, who is of course female, has already stated that Evander Kane personally reached out to her in an effort to get her on board with this program as well. Interestingly enough this body has deliberately chosen to remain separate from the NHL itself so it will be interesting to see what kind of good they can do for the sport of hockey over the next several years.