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Matt Dumba, Evander Kane call out NHL’s ‘disappointing’ response to Jacob Blake shooting

While players in the NBA, WNBA and other leagues staged a walkout on Wednesday in response to the Jacob Blake shooting, the NHL pushed forward business as usual.

That didn’t sit well with everyone.

Kane, Dumba call out NHL

Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba and San Jose Sharks winger Evander Kane called out the NHL for its lack of action on Wednesday when nearly every other professional sports league in the United States halted play in protest.

“The NHL we’re always late to the party, especially on these topics, so it’s sorta sad and disheartening for me and other members of the HDA, and I’m sure other guys across the league,” Dumba said, via Sportsnet.

“But if no one stands up and does anything, it’s the same thing — it’s just that silence that you’re just outside looking in on actually being leaders and invoking real change when you have such an opportunity to do so.”

Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot in the back multiple times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday as he tried to get back into his car. Video of the incident quickly sparked widespread condemnation, both in the sports world and out. The Milwaukee Bucks led a walkout in the NBA on Wednesday, and multiple other leagues followed suit.

Kane was right with him, upset that the league hasn’t done anything “about real action and meaningful change.”

He said on Sportsnet that the league hadn’t even acknowledged the shooting as of Wednesday, which was extremely disappointing.

“It’s not just my responsibility as a minority player in the NHL to be talking about these issues … It’s everybody’s,” he said. “And until everybody decides to take it upon themselves and maybe step away from some of their privileges and educate themselves and maybe fight with us, we’re going to be in the same situation we are today.”

The NHL did hold a “moment of reflection” ahead of the Boston Bruins-Tampa Bay Lightning game on Wednesday.

That moment, however, was tremendously short.

“It’s great to write statements. It’s great to send tweets. It’s great to post stories and pictures on Instagram,” Kane said. “But at the end of the day it’s going to be about real action and meaningful change, and unfortunately that still isn’t occurring, and we need to be better.”

Evander Kane of the San Jose Sharks
Evander Kane isn't happy with the NHL's response, or lack of one, after the Jacob Blake shooting. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images)

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