The Hockey Diversity Alliance is "on one side" and the NHL "on another side of a very significant battle," according to Steve Simmons of the TORONTO SUN. The NHL said that it "wants to do the right thing when it comes to Black Lives Matter and dealing with the long-term history of racism in its sport." But it "doesn’t want to do it the way" in which Sharks LW Evander Kane, former NHLer Akim Aliu and the HDA were "pushing and proposing it." In light of the "division between the NHL and the HDA," the league has "set up a significant number of committees to deal with a wide-ranging variety of intolerance in the game." But the recent situation with the Coyotes drafting Mitchell Miller "raised the ire of the Alliance and had it attacking the league again." Not long ago, the HDA announced it "would operate separately and 'independent of the NHL.'" Now this has led to "internal division between Black players." On one side, there is the HDA with Kane, Aliu and Wild D Matt Dumba as the "most prominent voices of the movement against what they call 'systemic racism and intolerance in hockey.'" On the other side, there is NHL Senior Exec VP/Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs Kim Davis, with "league backing, and prominent hockey voices," including Devils D P.K. Subban, as well as NBC Sports' Anson Carter and NHL Network's Kevin Weekes, two former NHLers (TORONTO SUN, 11/6).
