Nazem Kadri sounds off on Steve Simmons controversy

By now, you've surely heard of the controversy surrounding columnist Steve Simmons of The Toronto Sun. In a recent article, he wrote that former NHL player Akim Aliu wasn't the best source to listen to when it came time to talk about what's wrong with hockey culture. 

"No one wants to say this because of the politically correct police and all, but those who coached Akim Aliu must cringe every time they see him in a news report or a commercial talking about what's wrong with hockey. Like he would know," Simmons wrote in his Sunday Notes column.

"By my count, Aliu played for 23 teams in nine different leagues in 12 professional seasons and rarely finished any season with the same team he started with. If that was colour-related, how is it that Wayne Simmonds spent just about the same 12 seasons playing in the NHL?"

Simmons' comments drew immediate responses from the likes of Aliu as well as Wayne Simmonds, the former of whom outwardly called Simmons a racist.

And now, new Calgary Flames forward Nazem Kadri, who has dealt with plenty of racially charged comments towards him in years past and also required police protection earlier this spring while with the Colorado Avalanche in the postseason, has offered his take.

“It’s unfortunate when a guy like that tries to discredit somebody and, you know, act like they’ve been there and know it [experiencing racism in hockey], which obviously isn’t the case. He’d be the last guy to know anything about that,” Kadri said. “He’s always been a writer that’s kind of been on the line and created a lot of controversy so people can read his articles. So for us, you know, you’ve just got to brush it aside and continue to do the great things we’ve done.”

Simmons certainly is no stranger to controversy with his views on the Maple Leafs over the years, and he's not going to be out of the spotlight any time soon with this latest incident.