Will the NHL boycott games? Should it?

[ricardodw]

There was talk on CNBC that should this season be shut down the NBA collective bargaining agreement could be declared invalid and the current contracts void.

The 2020-21 season was going to be a mess (as is the NHL 20-21 season) due to very uncertain gate revenue so a season lock out would not be that bad of and option to the owners. It wasn't going to be a good year anyway.


The only reason the various league have come back to play was to have some continuation of revenue to limp through the covid mess.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Why does Carter get his opinion, but Aliu doesn't get his?

I think people who believe that this situation should only allow opinions of sunshine and kindness need to wake up. I don't see Aliu's or Carter's comments as being definitive or one more worthy of than the other, so I'm not sure why it's not ok to call Carter's comments embarrassing and question them with harshness, while calling Aliu's comments "idiotic and unfair."

I didn't say he doesn't get his idiotic opinion. I stand by that its an unfair indictment of Carter. Because Carter was ok with hockey games being played doesn't dictate what he thinks or how much he cares about social issues. I mean Aliu basically stopped short of calling the guy a sellout.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Azure

What percentage of NHL players come from Canada or Europe where these issues aren't as prevalent?

Why don't we expect the NHL to stand up for fair & democratic elections in Belarus? There are NHL players from Belarus, and it is part of the European hockey community.

The NHL is trying to expand it's presence in China. Why don't we expect the NHL to stand up against the genocide against the Uyghur's?

I think the answer to these questions are fairly obvious: we live in Canada, and consume a massive amount of media originating in the United States. People very naturally tend to care a lot more about what is going on in their own backyards, in their own neighbourhoods and fields of vision than they do about things occurring thousands of miles away to strangers. The extremely serious issues of genocide and marginalization are tragedies, but comparing the response by people living in this country or the US to racial injustices in our own culture and then crying "foul" is pretty naive.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Why does Carter get his opinion, but Aliu doesn't get his?

I think people who believe that this situation should only allow opinions of sunshine and kindness need to wake up. I don't see Aliu's or Carter's comments as being definitive or one more worthy of than the other, so I'm not sure why it's not ok to call Carter's comments embarrassing and question them with harshness, while calling Aliu's comments "idiotic and unfair."

Aliu is publicly branding Carter a traitor for suggesting there needs to be a rational plan in place if you're essentially calling to cancel sport on a grand scale. It's pretty absurd and uncalled for to have that kind of reaction to a guy who said nothing to promote or dismiss anything, and himself had to put up with a lot of the same issues going on when it wasn't even given a second of media attention at the time.

[dino7c]

The fact that the NHL isn't even playing games in the he US is relevant no?

IDK I might be on board if the NBA had an actual plan... boycotting until what/when? Are they playing again on the weekend? Bailing on the bubble? Any of these guys actually willing to put their salary on the line? As far as I know right now they aren't being paid.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Aliu is publicly branding Carter a traitor for suggesting there needs to be a rational plan in place if you're essentially calling to cancel sport on a grand scale. It's pretty absurd and uncalled for to have that kind of reaction to a guy who said nothing to promote or dismiss anything, and himself had to put up with a lot of the same issues going on when it wasn't even given a second of media attention at the time.

I agree. It was irresponsible for Aliu to disparage a high profile ally like that even if he disagreed with him.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Aliu is publicly branding Carter a traitor for suggesting there needs to be a rational plan in place if you're essentially calling to cancel sport on a grand scale. It's pretty absurd and uncalled for to have that kind of reaction to a guy who said nothing to promote or dismiss anything, and himself had to put up with a lot of the same issues going on when it wasn't even given a second of media attention at the time.

I’m not a fan of what either Aliu or Nurse said but I’m willing to cut them some slack as they’re likely posting from a place of pure emotion and frustration.

They want to see others take drastic steps but I don’t think either of them are thinking rationally about the consequences that might arise from such actions. They have very little at stake professionally the way others do and not everyone is going to feel that confrontation is the best solution.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Aliu is publicly branding Carter a traitor for suggesting there needs to be a rational plan in place if you're essentially calling to cancel sport on a grand scale. It's pretty absurd and uncalled for to have that kind of reaction to a guy who said nothing to promote or dismiss anything, and himself had to put up with a lot of the same issues going on when it wasn't even given a second of media attention at the time.

I think his issue was with saying the NHL went about its business and called attention to it. I agree with 90% of what Carter is saying, but I also agree with 90% of what Aliu is saying. There needs to be a plan of something more, but the NHL has yet to really do that aside from setting up a nicely branded website with some nice merchandise. As an organization, they haven't done the work, and suggesting they did anything worthwhile is pretty ignorant in my opinion.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by dino7c

The fact that the NHL isn't even playing games in the he US is relevant no?

I think it is. The NHL is a lot more removed from the whole issue than any other North American League. Most of their players are Canadians from upper-middle class backgrounds; they have the highest contingency of European borne players of any of the Big Four; the current playing environment is not subject to the same geopolitical pressures that are occurring all over the US. I do believe these things make a difference, and it sets the NHL in a bad, no-win situation: if the players or the League suspend play in solidarity, it appears insincere, or as a product of white guilt. If they do not, then their inactivity stands out as an unseemly exception.

IDK I might be on board if the NBA had an actual plan... boycotting until what/when? Are they playing again on the weekend? Bailing on the bubble? Any of these guys actually willing to put their salary on the line? As far as I know right now they aren't being paid.

Ideally, yes. But for players in the NBA this was a very emotional response, and one which most certainly was not followed through after careful consideration of all the contributing and mitigating factors. But I believe a lot of latitude is deserved here precisely because this was an organic response.

[Wood]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I think his issue was with saying the NHL went about its business and called attention to it. I agree with 90% of what Carter is saying, but I also agree with 90% of what Aliu is saying. There needs to be a plan of something more, but the NHL has yet to really do that aside from setting up a nicely branded website with some nice merchandise. As an organization, they haven't done the work, and suggesting they did anything worthwhile is pretty ignorant in my opinion.

I agree. The issue to me is how Aliu (and so many people on both sides of this) responded when someone wasn't 100% aligned with his thoughts

I get that it's a highly emotional situation and conversation, but to respond in anger and call Carter an embarrassment and to say he is against the cause only further divides people and does the complete opposite of what he's fighting for, which is an open conversation and education

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I think it is. The NHL is a lot more removed from the whole issue than any other North American League. Most of their players are Canadians from upper-middle class backgrounds; they have the highest contingency of European borne players of any of the Big Four; the current playing environment is not subject to the same geopolitical pressures that are occurring all over the US. I do believe these things make a difference, and it sets the NHL in a bad, no-win situation: if the players or the League suspend play in solidarity, it appears insincere, or as a product of white guilt. If they do not, then their inactivity stands out as an unseemly exception.

[/I]
Ideally, yes. But for players in the NBA this was a very emotional response, and one which most certainly was not followed through after careful consideration of all the contributing and mitigating factors. But I believe a lot of latitude is deserved here precisely because this was an organic response.

I know one of George Floyd's close friends played in the NBA, so that's actually gotta be scary to think about

[Strange Brew]

I imagine if you're a black man in the NBA, locked into a "bubble" at the Disneyworld resort, wearing pre-approved BLM messages on your jersey and sneakers, playing basketball in front of video monitors and watching the news of what keeps happening to black people, you're going to have some pretty heavy duty conflicting thoughts and emotions running through your brain.

Imagine you're staying at the Grand Floridian resort, which is an absolutely beautiful property, modeled on Victorian era resorts that were built along the Florida coast in the early 20th century. Any guesses on the amount of black guests those resorts would have welcomed at the time?

I'm just saying that this is a very difficult and emotional thing. And these guys might be rich, but they are human.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Wood

I agree. The issue to me is how Aliu (and so many people on both sides of this) responded when someone wasn't 100% aligned with his thoughts

I get that it's a highly emotional situation and conversation, but to respond in anger and call Carter an embarrassment and to say he is against the cause only further divides people and does the complete opposite of what he's fighting for, which is an open conversation and education

But we're only human, and responding to an emotional situation in anger may not be helpful or ideal, but it's unrealistic to expect more than that all of the time.

And sure, we can agree on what's the best way to handle something, but what I believe is unfair is acting like an emotional/angry response is somehow the thing that is going to divide people. If anything, it's impact is so small. We have more people here upset that Aliu didn't choose his words nicely than we have about the poster who said "who cares, the guy isn't even dead!" or the poster who lightly justified the kid who shot three people and killed two of them by saying "he was protecting property, what do you do??"

That's a disconnect for me. We expect everyone impacted by the issue to be calm and rational and criticize them for being emotional, but we brush it off when people unaffected shrug off shootings and legitimize homicide. That's not being reasonable. That's not showing a real concern for conversation and education. Aliu's comments pale in comparison in terms of "furthering division" than defending killers and dismissing Black victims. But we put the focus on Aliu, because it's easier than addressing the real issues we're facing.

[Corral]

Originally Posted by dino7c

The fact that the NHL isn't even playing games in the he US is relevant no?

IDK I might be on board if the NBA had an actual plan... boycotting until what/when? Are they playing again on the weekend? Bailing on the bubble? Any of these guys actually willing to put their salary on the line? As far as I know right now they aren't being paid.

Yes. And are the 10 people who are actually watching nhl games in the USA these days really going to miss it?

[GirlySports]

Well the NBA is playing tomorrow

[Toonage]

The HDA has made a request to the NHL that they suspend games today.

I fully expect the NHL will do just that and resume the schedule tomorrow.

[Wood]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

But we're only human, and responding to an emotional situation in anger may not be helpful or ideal, but it's unrealistic to expect more than that all of the time.

And sure, we can agree on what's the best way to handle something, but what I believe is unfair is acting like an emotional/angry response is somehow the thing that is going to divide people. If anything, it's impact is so small. We have more people here upset that Aliu didn't choose his words nicely than we have about the poster who said "who cares, the guy isn't even dead!" or the poster who lightly justified the kid who shot three people and killed two of them by saying "he was protecting property, what do you do??"

That's a disconnect for me. We expect everyone impacted by the issue to be calm and rational and criticize them for being emotional, but we brush it off when people unaffected shrug off shootings and legitimize homicide. That's not being reasonable. That's not showing a real concern for conversation and education. Aliu's comments pale in comparison in terms of "furthering division" than defending killers and dismissing Black victims. But we put the focus on Aliu, because it's easier than addressing the real issues we're facing.

Yeah I'm on the same page as you

Only thing I'd argue is that it's difficult to hold Aliu and a poster like magnum pei to the same standard

One is currently the face of the BLM movement in the hockey world, the other is a willfully ignorant anonymous poster. Only so many people can reply to a comment like his and condone it in hopes that he can be open to educating himself

I'd like to think a lot more posters here would be more upset with what magnum said vs what Aliu said, I don't really see them as part of the same discussion

[shadowlord]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1299041511712194563


Elliotte Friedman
@FriedgeHNIC
Players being told to prepare for cancellations tonight
10:50 AM · Aug 27, 2020

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Wood

Yeah I'm on the same page as you

Only thing I'd argue is that it's difficult to hold Aliu and a poster like magnum pei to the same standard

One is currently the face of the BLM movement in the hockey world, the other is a willfully ignorant anonymous poster. Only so many people can reply to a comment like his and condone it in hopes that he can be open to educating himself

I'd like to think a lot more posters here would be more upset with what magnum said vs what Aliu said, I don't really see them as part of the same discussion

I see what you're saying. I guess part of my point is that it's easier to criticise someone for not having the conversation the right way, than it is to actually have the conversation yourself. It's easy to criticise Aliu, but who of his critics are having the conversations the right way when the opportunity presents itself? I certainly see more of the former than the latter. Aliu might be a high profile guy, but it's no more his duty to have the conversations than it is any of us. He's simply taken it upon himself to do so, so to criticise him for the way he does it when few of us even bother in the first place doesn't sit well with me.

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I think his issue was with saying the NHL went about its business and called attention to it. I agree with 90% of what Carter is saying, but I also agree with 90% of what Aliu is saying. There needs to be a plan of something more, but the NHL has yet to really do that aside from setting up a nicely branded website with some nice merchandise. As an organization, they haven't done the work, and suggesting they did anything worthwhile is pretty ignorant in my opinion.

I get what you are saying, but what are they supposed to be working on? Does BLM have a plan about what to address or are the owners of pro sports team supposed to jump to every supposed problem. Maybe come up with a plan on what to address, specific ideas, then sit with the leagues/owners and form a way to make the recommendations. As an example, we hear systemic racism thrown about, show specifics and be willing to listen when someone disproves your opinion on certain claims of systemic racism.