Welcome To aBlackWeb

NHL head coach exposed for his racism by Ex-NHL Player: Coach Called His Music 'N***** Sh!t'


Former NHLer believes incident during the 2009-10 season with current Flames head coach ruined his career before it started

Former NHL player Akim Aliu said on Monday that current Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters repeatedly hurled racial epithets in his presence in a minor league locker room a decade ago.

Speaking publicly for the first time since he made the allegation on Twitter, the Nigerian-born Aliu said Peters made the remarks in the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs dressing room before a morning skate during the 2009-10 season while the 20-year-old Aliu controlled the team’s music.

“He walked in before a morning pre-game skate and said ‘Hey Akim, I’m sick of you playing that n----- s---,’ ” Aliu told TSN, with Peters, who was then the Ice Hogs head coach, referring to Aliu’s selection of hip-hop music. “He said ‘I’m sick of hearing this n-----s f------ other n-----s in the ass stuff.’

“He then walked out like nothing ever happened. You could hear a pin drop in the room, everything went dead silent. I just sat down in my stall, didn’t say a word.”

Two of Aliu’s Rockford teammates who were in the room at the time of the alleged incident, Simon Pepin and Peter MacArthur, independently corroborated Aliu’s account to TSN on Tuesday.

"I think everyone should be held accountable for their actions or words spoken," Pepin said.

Aliu said Rockford team captain Jake Dowell later confronted Peters about the incident in the coach’s office. Dowell declined to comment, but said he would cooperate in any investigation conducted by the NHL or the Flames.

When Peters then called Aliu into his office to talk about it, Aliu said Peters did not apologize. Instead, Peters again expressed his displeasure in Aliu’s choice of music for the dressing room, with Aliu saying Peters said: “You know, I’m just sick of this n----- s---. It’s every day. From now on, we need to play different music.”

The Calgary Flames said Monday night that the team was aware of Aliu’s tweet. When presented by TSN with the full scope of Aliu’s allegations, GM Brad Treliving declined further comment, saying the organization was conducting “a full investigation” on the matter.

Peters was not made available to the media after Monday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also wasn’t on the ice for the team’s practice in Buffalo on Tuesday.

“Bill has not been relieved of his duties. We are continuing this ongoing investigation right now,” Treliving told reporters in Buffalo. “The serious nature of this is not lost on us, we take it with extreme seriousness.”

The NHL also acknowledged that the league is aware of the matter.

“The behavior that has been alleged is repugnant and unacceptable,” the NHL said in a statement. “We will have no further comment until we have had an opportunity to look into the matter more thoroughly.”

Aliu, now 30, was born in Nigeria, raised in Ukraine and moved to Canada at the age of seven. The Blackhawks’ second-round pick (56th overall) from 2007 now lives in the Greater Toronto Area and is currently a free agent after spending part of last season with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears.

When asked why he waited nearly 10 years to step forward, Aliu pointed to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as a reason to stay quiet.

“This isn’t me being bitter. I sat on this a really, really long time. It broke my heart, I think it made my career go downhill before it started,” Aliu said. “This isn’t to the degree of Kaepernick by any means, but if you play the race card, it’s most likely the end of your career.”

Aliu said he did not confront Peters at the time of the incident, nor in the private meeting that followed in Peters’ office.

“What am I going to say? I was 20 years old and a first-year pro. I was too scared to speak up,” Aliu said. “I beat myself up every day over it.”

Aliu said he believes that incident with Peters “ruined my career before it started.” Aliu already began his career with the public reputation of being a difficult player, stemming from his refusal to participate in a hazing ritual with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires that would have forced him and other rookies to stand naked in a bus washroom.

All this time later, Aliu says he decided to speak out to hold Peters accountable.

“It’s tough to sit here while he just keeps climbing the ranks. After that incident, I got zero opportunity,” Aliu said. “I’ve made peace with it. I hope he’s honest and admits what happened.”

The Aliu story triggered tweets from former Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Michal Jordan, alleging abusive behaviour by Peters when he was coach of the Hurricanes.

“Never wish anything bad to the person but you get what you deserve Bill,” Jordan tweeted Tuesday afternoon. “After years making it to the NHL (I) had experience with the worst coach ever by far. Kicking me and punching other player to the head during the game... then pretending like nothing happened...couldnt believe my eyes what can happen in the best league.. happy that i dont have to go thrue that stuff on daily basis anymore.”

Jordan told TSN in a phone interview, “He kicked me pretty hard in the back during a game. Even the trainers and the other guys saw it.

“I was at that point in my career, like I just got there, so I couldn't say anything. I didn't want them to think I was crying. Me and my agent, we kept it secret. Now other guys are speaking out, so I felt like I could.”
 

Flames coach Bill Peters apologizes for 'hurtful' comments in letter to GM

Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters acknowledged in a letter of apology Wednesday that he used offensive language in dealing with a Nigerian-born player 10 years ago in the minors.
General manager Brad Treliving confirmed receipt of the letter, which was first posted on Twitter by TSN, a Canadian sports cable network, during the third period of Calgary's 3-2 overtime victory at Buffalo. Treliving would only say the Flames are reviewing the letter as part of their continuing investigation into Peters, and that the GM could have an update as early as Thursday.

Without specifically revealing the words he used, Peters wrote in the letter that he knows his comments to Akim Aliu have been the source of both anger and disappointment.
"Although it was an isolated and immediately regrettable incident, I take responsibility for what I said,'' Peters wrote, saying the comments were made in a "moment of frustration'' and that his words didn't mirror his "personal values.''

Those were Peters' first comments in the three days since the NHL and the team began investigating allegations made by Aliu, who said Peters "dropped the N bomb several times" because he didn't like the player's choice of music. The alleged confrontation happened during the 2009-10 season while the two were with the Chicago Blackhawks' minor league affiliate in Rockford, Illinois.

"I have regretted the incident since it happened and I now also apologize to anyone negatively affected by my words,'' Peters wrote. "I meant no disrespect in what I said and it was not directed at anyone in particular. But that doesn't matter. It was hurtful and demeaning. I am truly sorry.''

Aliu responded to Peters' comments Thursday, releasing a statement to TSN in which he called Peters' statement "misleading, insincere and concerning."

He also said he had accepted an invitation from the NHL to discuss the situation and would not publicly address the matter further until after that meeting.
Treliving called it a "difficult three days for everyone.''

"This investigation we're doing, I know everyone wants this done immediately and the world we live in is immediate,'' Treliving said. "I hope you can appreciate we're trying to do everything we possibly can to make sure we get it right and get all the information that needs to be gotten.''

Peters traveled with the team to Buffalo on Tuesday, a day after Aliu posted his allegations. But Peters' whereabouts were unknown, with the Flames only saying he wouldn't be behind the bench for Calgary's game at Buffalo on Wednesday night. Associate coach Geoff Ward served as coach.

Ward and Flames players attempted to place the focus on the game, not Peters.
"I don't have any comment about that, I'm just here to talk about hockey,'' Ward said. "Everything else will be decided when everybody's done their due diligence on it.''

Ward said the Flames have not informed him what his role would be beyond coaching Wednesday's game, his first as an NHL head coach. He has more than 25 years of coaching experience and joined Peters' staff this season after spending the previous three years as an assistant in New Jersey.

"We all feel for everybody involved. It's not a perfect situation,'' Ward said. "We'll worry about the next step once we get through this game today.''
Following the win at Buffalo, the Flames were to return to Calgary, Alberta, to open a three-game homestand Saturday against Ottawa.

"All this extraneous stuff that's going on, we're just not even thinking about it,'' center Derek Ryan said. "As professional athletes, we go through different situations throughout the year where we have to block stuff out. And we're just trying to keep that as another one of those situations.''

Peters also was accused this week of punching and kicking players while he was Carolina's head coach.

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said, "for sure that happened," backing a former player's complaints about Peters physically going after his own players behind the bench during his four seasons in Carolina from 2014 to 2018.
Brind'Amour, who was an assistant on Peters' staff, said he was proud of the way players and support staff handled what happened by immediately bringing their concerns to team officials.

"Management handled it directly and never heard of it again and never saw anything else after that," said Brind'Amour, who spoke to reporters in New York before the Hurricanes' game against the Rangers. "So it was definitely dealt with, in my opinion, correctly. ... We've definitely moved past that."

Former Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, who sold the team two years ago, told the Seattle Times on Wednesday night that he would have fired Peters "in a nanosecond" had he been made aware of the players' allegations by then-general manager Ron Francis.
"I'm pretty upset," Karmanos told the Seattle Times. "And I have my calls in to Ronnie as well. I think he's the one who's going to have to tell people what he did when he found out that the coach had done these things.''

Brind'Amour took over as Carolina's coach after Peters opted out of his contract following the 2017-18 season. Peters was then immediately hired by the Flames, where he led the team to a 50-win season and a Pacific Division title in his first season.

195562
 
Yeah, by looks alone, he doesn't look like the type to apologize.

On a side note, who were they listening to everyday with the music being about niggas fuckin other niggas in the ass? Shit, I wouldn't want to listen to that either. lol
But biggie is in most niggas top 5....
 


Good. I watch hockey pretty faithfully & to have that dude still coaching would of undone all the NHL efforts to try to reach out to minorities the last ten plus years.
 
not saying its impossible but most of that type of shit is underlined with more then just not liking black people

you hear rap music every day and this day all of a sudden you blow up and go "no more nigga shit"

i'd bet money his wife or daughter was taking a lil extra coffee w/ their cream lol......probably walked in on one gettin tossed to Kush and OJ

got to work and heard that shit like fuck naw lmao

:mf2:

he'll be aight tho....early retirement....all country clubs and massage parlors from here baby
 

Avs put AHL staffer who wore blackface on leave

The Colorado Avalanche have put Tony Deynzer, the head equipment manager of their AHL affiliate, on administrative leave after former player Akim Aliu told the Wall Street Journal that Deynzer dressed up as Aliu, wearing blackface, at a team Halloween party in 2011.
Aliu was on the Colorado Eagles at the time, and shared the story with the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, as well as photos of Deynzer in blackface.

Aliu told the WSJ that he was told to show up to the party late. When he walked in, Deynzer "appeared from behind a corner," according to Aliu, who added that Deynzer "was in blackface, wearing an Afro-style wig and a jersey that had been custom-made with Aliu's number and nickname 'DREAMER' emblazoned on the back."

"Guys just started laughing," Aliu told the WSJ. "All I can do is tell my story."

The Eagles tweeted an open apology to Aliu on Wednesday.

"As an organization, the discovery of this event deeply saddens us," the team said in the statement. "Although we had no prior knowledge, that doesn't excuse or diminish the fact that this has hurt a fellow human being. Rest assured, our organization holds no ego too big or stature so proud that we are above apologies for any wrongdoings. As a family-oriented organization, we wholeheartedly seek your forgiveness and sincerely apologize. We are truly very sorry, and we will also assure you that this behavior is not and never will be acceptable in our organization."

The Nigerian-born Aliu, a longtime minor league player who appeared in seven NHL games, has been in the public eye since he tweeted on Nov. 25 that Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters used racial slurs toward him when he coached Aliu with the Chicago Blackhawks' minor league affiliate in 2009. Aliu is currently a free agent, living in Toronto. The accusations led to an internal investigation by the Flames. Peters, who admitted to the incident in a letter of apology to Calgary GM Brad Treliving, resigned on Nov. 29.

Aliu was invited to the NHL offices this week to meet with commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

"It was a tough week, but we had some great discussion," Aliu said in a brief statement after the meeting. "They couldn't have been kinder or more receptive to the message that we're trying to bring."

On Monday, the NHL implemented a four-point plan, including a platform for whistleblowers and an annual training program on diversity and inclusion in response to recent abuse scandals in its coaching community.
Bettman was confident the new policies will help ensure a safer work environment. He stressed a zero-tolerance policy for any failure to notify the league on reported incidents.

"Our message is unequivocal," Bettman said. "We will not tolerate abusive behavior of any kind."

200409
 
Back
Top