Leafs' captain Tavares speaks out against Toronto Sun article targeting Wayne Simmonds, Akim Aliu
Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares is making it clear where he stands with teammate Wayne Simmonds and former NHLer Akim Aliu.
Earlier this week, the two players were written about in an article in the Toronto Sun by longtime NHL writer Steve Simmons.
In the article, Simmons compared the careers of Simmonds and Aliu, two Black professional hockey players.
“No one wants to say this because of the politically correct police and all, but those who coached Akim Aliu must cringe every time they see him in a news report or a commercial talking about what’s wrong with hockey. Like he would know. By my count, Aliu played for 23 teams in nine different leagues in 12 professional seasons and rarely finished any season with the same team he started with. If that was colour-related, how is it that Wayne Simmonds spent just about the same 12 seasons playing in the NHL?” Simmons wrote in a column on Sunday.
Asked about Simmonds being placed on waivers earlier this week before being sent down to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Tavares shifted the conversation to Simmons’ article.
“The stuff that happened with him and the [Hockey Diversity Alliance] and Akim… we love him in here. We’re thinking about him tremendously, we want to show him support,” Tavares told reporters Tuesday.
Aliu and Simmonds are both founding members of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, created in 2020 to help fight racism in hockey.
John Tavares was asked a question about Wayne Simmonds being on waivers yesterday, and took the opportunity to turn the conversation to address the racism Simmer & fellow HDA member Akim Aliu were facing from a member of the Leafs own press core. pic.twitter.com/pPk0Hx5oGN
— katie (@itsmitchmarney) October 12, 2022
“I don’t know how any of us can really relate to the path or the things that they’ve been through and the journey that they’ve taken, but I know it’s been difficult for him and we’ll continue to support them and learn and educate ourselves and do the best we can to support them and make the game better,” Tavares added.
Aliu and Simmonds both condemned the article on social media, while Tavares’ former Leafs teammate Nazem Kadri also spoke out about Simmons earlier this week.
Simmons is the longest-serving member of the Toronto chapter of the Pro Hockey Writers’ Association, having covered the Leafs since 1980.