NATIONWIDE – The Milwaukee Bucks put things in motion Wednesday, boycotting play in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Other teams in the NBA, as well as MLS, WNBA, and MLB followed suit, creating an unprecedented response from the world of sports.
Not part of the boycott: the National Hockey League.
The NHL went ahead with three playoff games Wednesday, drawing criticism from fans, analysts and players. Despite a campaign from the NHL calling for inclusiveness, critics have noted the league is slow to respond to social issues if it does so at all.
Evander Kane, forward for the San Jose Sharks and among of handful of Black players in the NHL, took to Twitter Wednesday, calling the league’s lack of action “incredibly insulting.”
“Actually it’s incredibly insulting as a black man in hockey the lack of action and acknowledgement from the @nhl, just straight up insulting,” he wrote.
Speaking to radio station Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver, Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, who is Filipino-Canadian, called the lack of action from the NHL “disheartening.”
“It’s kind of sad and disheartening for me and other members of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, and I’m sure for other guys across the league,” he said. “But if no one stands up and does anything, then it’s the same thing, that silence.”
Wednesday’s game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders did begin at 3 p.m., prior to the Milwaukee Bucks announcing they wouldn’t be playing. Prior to the game between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning, the NHL displayed the words “End Racism” on a video board and held what was referred to as a moment of reflection for Blake, who remains paralyzed from the waist down.
Speaking to ESPN, Bruins defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara said the teams simply didn’t have enough time or information for a decision to be reached.
"It was so close to our game that we were just getting ready," he said. "After our pregame meal, we took naps and then we were on the bus, so I don't think any of us were watching the TV until we got to the rink. And at that point, obviously, it was too close to the game to start any discussions or try to move the games to different dates. We were basically following the schedule the NHL provided to us."