The past few days of games have been a watershed moment for the NHL. What started with the then Tampa Bay Lightning’s JT Brown’s solitary raised fist in 2017 has finally spread as several players—Black, white and of color—protest for racial justice on the ice.
In 2017, moved by the efforts of Colin Kaepernick to shed light on police brutality JT Brown raised his fist in the Black Power salute during the American national anthem at a Tampa Bay home game. It was a courageous gesture that led to death threats for Brown at the time.
In the following years, the Black Lives Matter movement has only grown in power and the NHL world, sometimes slow to catch up, has started to come around to the necessity of bold gestures on the ice. As protests sweep all major sports leagues, NHL players have also now, slowly taken part in them.
On Saturday, the Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba became the first NHL player to take a knee during the anthem. Two days later, the Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba, the Vegas Golden Knight’s Ryan Reaves and Robin Lehner, and the Dallas Stars’ Tyler Seguin and Jason Dickinson all took a knee during the American and Canadian national anthems.
Here, in their own words, are why they decided to protest.
JT Brown
From his essay for NHL.com titled “Why I raised my fist.”
“On Oct. 7, 2017, I had a choice. I could shut up and play hockey, or I could do something so loud that the entire hockey community would hear me. Nothing will ever get accomplished if we all keep our heads down and our mouths shut. So, during the national anthem in Sunrise, Florida, I raised my fist to protest police brutality and racism. The same fist that got arenas to their feet while I exchanged blows with outweighed opponents. The same fist that shattered from blocking a shot during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The same fist that has given countless daps to Black and Hispanic kids in the community while teaching them how to play hockey. I have always sacrificed for my team, for the fans, for my community. In 2017 I had an opportunity to sacrifice for something bigger than hockey, and I knew that I needed to do it.”
Matt Dumba
Dumba, who is Filipino-Canadian, gave a two-minute speech on the NHL’s re-opening day, stating clearly “Black Lives Matter, Breonna Taylor’s life matters.”
Speaking to reporters, he spoke further about his decision.
“I know why I knelt. It wasn’t a sign of disrespect by any means. It was to shed light on the people who have lived through the injustice and oppression, especially in my home state of Minnesota. So, I think that’s why I did it. But I think my biggest regret is not doing it for the Canadian national anthem, as well, because there is a lot of light that needs to be shed on what is happening in Canada and the oppression First Nations people have felt here for hundreds of years.
“I’ve got First Nations aboriginal family that have lived it. I was disappointed looking back on it because I knew the reasons why I knelt. Just in the moment, it happened like that.”
Dumba has said that after speaking with JT Brown, he will continue to raise a fist.
Ryan Reaves
Reaves had previously said he considered taking a knee, but did not want to make his teammates uncomfortable.
“I have the utmost respect for everybody that’s gone over and fought and died for the freedom of this country,” Reaves said. “Bill Foley our owner is one of the best guys I’ve ever met, and he’s a military guy. So that’s not the message I’m trying to send. But at the same time, those people go across seas, and they go to war, and families are torn apart in these wars for the freedom of this country only to come back and find out this country isn’t free for everybody. That’s where I’m coming from. Not everybody is truly free in this country.”
He further said he wanted to support Matt Dumba.
“We still were going to come together and talk about it, but Dums (Dumba) leading the way, you don’t want to leave him out to dry. That’s the whole point of this. You want to be united for the cause. When you see one of your brothers do that, you want to support him. You want to support the cause he’s fighting for.”
Robin Lehner
Lehner, who is Swedish, addressed his previous support of President Donald Trump, who has strongly been against kneeling during the anthem.
“I did the mistake once, put the Trump sticker on my mask, something I regret now, seeing how divisive things have been. But at the end of the day, this is not politics. This is human rights. It’s not about politics. Everyone’s talking about conversation and education and listening, but it’s time to start doing something, not just let this be a news cycle and forget about it and do it all over again. Everyone should have the same chance in society. Everyone should be treated the same. I’ve seen a lot growing up. My family is of color, and what I’ve seen, how things are, disgusts me. At the end of the day, I love America, but there’s a bunch of things that needs to be corrected. I think they have the power to do so. It’s just about willingness to do something about it. I think it’s time for whites to step into battle with our brothers and sisters and make some change, stop just talking about it and actually do something.”
Tyler Seguin
Seguin, who marched in Black Lives Matter protest earlier this summer, said Reaves approached him in warm-ups and informed him of his and Lehner’s plan. He said he didn’t hesitate to say yes.
“Definitely being two white guys, to do what we did, I wanted to be a part of that movement if there was an opportunity. I can’t say honestly I was going to go out there on my own and take a knee, but with them having a black player on their team, and his beliefs, and how I’ve said from Day 1, I’m going to back it up in ways that I can…that’s why I chose to support that and why I’m very proud ‘Dickie’ did, for standing up and doing what he believes as well.”
Jason Dickinson
Dickinson said he wanted to join for personal and political reasons.
“I’ve got some people of color in my family, my dad comes from the islands, and one of my uncles is black, so it was easy for me – easy decision,” Dickinson said. “I’ve been thinking about it since everything started, if I would do that. And I was probably nervous to think about doing it on my own, and when ‘Seggy’ said it, it was a no-brainer for me that I wouldn’t be alone doing it – and to support the cause and support my teammates.”
Asked what he protesting for, Dickinson laid out the issues.
“Black Lives Matter, equality, justice, you pick the term. It doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I don’t need to sit here and take a stab at all the issues. Just educate yourself, look into things, watch documentaries, talk to people. Just learn, try to open your mind a little bit and this is a big issue that needs to be addressed.”