Maybe by explaining how this is a 'victimhood rant'?
Yeah, and if you were discussing in good faith and actually reading things, you'd note that I stated that Aliu would be described as a 'journeyman player' in other posts rather than 'crybaby who wasn't wanted in 23 organizations.' But because folks want to point at PK Subban (or whomever) and say that racism in hockey is solved, here we are.
I also stated that racism
might have played a role. It's inarguable that he faced racism through his career (much like
many other minority players in the league.)
This site makes mountains out of molehills over prospect development. This player should have been sent back to junior for more season. This player needs to be getting plenty of ice time. This coach doesn't like young players, they're ruining this prospect's development.
We know that there are coaches who didn't like players for personality or non-hockey related reasons. Is it really that much of a reach to think that there would be other extenuating factors?
We were discussing the idiocy of Steve Simmon's statement about Aliu. Which bears no resemblance to the nonsense I have quoted above.
Here it is, since it's patently obvious you're just wanting to yell about a player who is getting "uppity."
Being a minority player who experienced racism (enough so that a f***ing NHL coach
admitted he said the things Aliu attributed to him) I would think, in fact, Aliu
does know.
Weren't you the guy jumping all over someone for bringing up Sheldon Keefe because it wasn't germane to the discussion?
Anyway. You're taking an incredibly binary look at things, which is something I am not fond of the "woke" crowd of doing, either.
Racism is not the
sole reason why there aren't 'more' players of colour in the NHL. But it can be seen as a barrier that can be a contributing factor.
Have you heard about
this story from 2018? Do you think maybe that if a kid was facing something like that from grown adults they might be disinclined to continue in the sport?
Here's
another story borne out of the above one.
So yes, if someone isn't feeling welcome or a part of a team and they decide to switch sports because of racist attitudes, I'd say that it does
contribute to accessibility issues in the sport, but it's not a sole determining factor.
Folks like to simplify things down with incredibly reductionist takes on things and, when we're talking about complex socio issues, it's not that cut and dry.
It's kinda depressing how incredibly close you get and then miss the point.
Both of your examples are more or less restating what I had said. There's no real consequences for vile instances in the game and that's an issue if we're looking at making it more welcoming/less racist/less insular.
And Virtanen was afforded a million and one chances (same as guys like Shane O'Brien.) There was no real explanation for Aliu plummeting from a top 5 first rounder to actually being drafted in the second round like there would be with, say, Angelo Esposito (who was thought to be 1OA until a knee injury sidelined him) or other players where you can look and point at a reason as to why they fell.
The only thing really with Aliu was the shit with Downie. Yet only Aliu seemed to be punished for it.
It's great you acknowledge that racism exists in the game. But it might be worth thinking about what sort of impact it has on players. At all levels, from the NHL on down.
