In the NHL, no anthem protests

The kneeling-during-the-national=anthem controversy that has roiled the NFL seems, so far, to have spared the NHL.

The hockey league has been playing preseason games for the past two weeks, but so far no player has knelt during performances of the national anthem, and some of the NHL’s top players — in a league where Americans make up less than 30 percent of the talent — have come out against the idea. 

The Boston Bruins’ David Backes, a two-time Olympian from Minnesota, said there are more appropriate ways to protest than to sit during “The Star-Spnagled Banner.” “I’ve got great buddies that have been in the military and they’ve sacrificed for my freedom, so I’d never want to do anything to disrespect that, he said. “I’m standing for every national anthem with my hand over my heart … If I’ve got beef with a social justice issue or something else-wise, I’m going to find different avenues that are not disrespectful.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews, another American and one of the NHL’s fastest-rising stars, said he would stand for the anthem out of respect for those who served in the military, including members of his own family.

“To me, I don’t know if kneeling, sitting, stretching is something I’d really look into doing because to me it’s like a dishonor to the men and women who fight for that flag, that fight for the U.S.,” Matthews said.

Capitals coach Barry Trotz, a Canadian who makes his home in Virginia, said Wednesday he didn’t plan to address his team on how to handle the national anthem before Wednesday night’s preaseason game against the New Jersey Devils at Capital One Arena. But if any of his players feel the need to protest, they’re within their rights, the coach said.

“That’s the great thing about our country,” Trotz said. “Everybody gets to speak our piece, if you will, without sometimes ramifications. Other countries, there’s dire consequences if you speak up. That’s the gift of living in the United States. People can express it and support anybody for that.

“For me personally, we’re honoring the flag. We’re maybe not honoring some of the things that are going on in our country.” 

NFL players say kneeling during the anthem has nothing to do with disrespecting the military but instead is meant to draw attention to the unfair treatment of minorities by police.

Protests in the NFL and frustration among athletes with the president spiked over weekend after Donald Trump called protesting players “sons of [expletive],” and suggested owners fire them. 

In response, players at NFL contests on Sunday and Monday stayed out of sight, or made a show of linking arms, kneeling, sitting — or, in one instance, stretching — during anthem performances.

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman told the Associated Press this week that players’ views on political and social issues “are a matter of individual belief and individual choice,” leaving open the possibility the NHL could see individual anthem protests before the league’s regular season starts next week. 

San Jose Sharks forward and former Washington Capital Joel Ward told the Mercury News that he wouldn’t cross out taking a knee during the anthem, citing his experiences with racism in hockey.

Ward is one of the roughly 30 black players in the NHL. If he does kneel, Ward said it would be done to raise awareness of racial injustice. While he’s Canadian, the 36-year-old forward said he could still bring a unique perspective.

“The topic of race is always the elephant in the room,” said Ward, who spent four years in Washington (2011-2015). “For those guys [in the NFL] to use their platform on that stage is uplifting.”

Another black NHL player, the Nashville Predators’ P.K. Subban, said Tuesday he will “never” kneel during the anthem. Subban, a Canadian, said he has too much respect for the American flag.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington’s longtime NHL nemisis, has come under fire from in some corners for accepting an invitation to celebrate their Stanley Cup championship at the White House on Oct. 10 (one day before playing the Capitals at Capital One Arena). 

Coach Mike Sullivan defended Sidney Crosby, his Canadian superstar, who called visiting the White House “an opportunity.”

“The fact that people seem to think that Sid needs to bear this burden of responsibility is unfair,” Sullivan told reporters. “This guy does nothing but go to the rink, help the Penguins win championships and be a good person every day. That’s how we see it. Having said that, we have respect for those that choose to express themselves differently. I wish we would receive the same respect in return, and I wish our captain would as well.” 

Sullivan, meanwhile, said he wishes people wouldn’t take the Penguins accepting the invitation as a political stand. 

“We haven’t take any stance,” Sullivan said. “The Penguins as an organization and our players have chosen not to use this platform to take a stance. There appears to be a perception that we have. It’s wrong.”