Akim Aliu shares some of the hateful, racist messages and death threats he received after outing Bill Peters

It’s hard to remember with everything going on in the world today, but remember just five months ago when the biggest scandal in the hockey world was former NHLer Akim Aliu coming forward with his story about his treatment under then AHL coach Bill Peters?

Peters, of course, was outed for using racist language with Aliu during their time together with the Rockford IceHogs during the 2009-10 AHL season. When Aliu’s allegations came to light it triggered an entire “Me Too” movement in the NHL that saw Peters dismissed from his job as the Calgary Flames’ head coach. Other prominent hockey coaches like Mike Babcock, Marc Crawford and Darryl Sutter were also put on notice for what many felt was unfair and cruel treatment.

Now, Aliu is sharing everything that happened during that whirlwind period after going public and he’s even sharing some behind the scenes details in a feature story with The Players’ Tribune.

Check out some snippets below:

I speak about the racism in the game because that’s what I endured. But there are countless stories of white boys and girls being chewed up and spit out by hockey because of their sexuality or their gender identification — and those issues deserve just as much attention.

I see you guys and girls in my mentions on Twitter whenever I post something about my efforts to help change the game. I see that you’re fighting for the same thing. Your support truly means the world to me. Thank you so much. 

Like many minority athletes, though, I also see the horrible messages people send me on social media. It’s relentless, and each one hits you a different way. Sometimes I feel sad for the person, sometimes I feel scared. It’s a constant reminder that what we’re fighting for is something that needs fighting for.

Many people have experienced similar things to what I went through. And, yes, hockey has many of the same deep, complicated issues that society itself has. But our sport is a great, great game. It has the power to change lives, to bring people together. I know those things are true. And the point of all this is not to lay blame at the feet of white hockey players, or those who are not comfortable enough to speak out. I understand their positions.

I was fortunate enough to sit down at the end of last year with Bill Daly and Gary Bettman to talk about some of these issues. Our discussion is still ongoing, and the result of our meeting is still to be decided. But we continue to work toward fixing issues around inclusivity.

I made my opinions on things clear to them, as I hope I’ve done here. And I’ll be honest, I left that initial meeting feeling positive. I think — and it may take some time — that there will be an acknowledgement of the problems the NHL is facing — and there will be tangible changes coming.

The NHL must be better. Pure and simple.

For the full article, click below: