Co-founder Evander Kane steps down from Hockey Diversity Alliance
Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane is leaving the Hockey Diversity Alliance, an organization he helped create.
On Friday afternoon, he released a statement announcing he will be stepping away from the HDA, which he co-founded in 2020 with Akim Aliu:
Statement: Regarding my association with the Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA) moving forward. pic.twitter.com/m6FgBwG7z2
— Evander Kane (@evanderkane) July 14, 2023
“Over the course of our respective careers, each of my fellow alliance members have endured multiple forms of racism, and it was our initial goal to shed light on these experiences,” Kane’s statement reads. “In its early days, the impact and role of the HDA was significant. Unfortunately, my greatest concerns about the organization have come to fruition and the HDA is now being led and influenced by members with individual agendas. There has also been a combative approach with other organizations that have embarked on similar goals. This is a method I do not support.”
While Kane didn’t refer to any specific incidents, it’s worth noting that the HDA released a statement last week criticizing the NHL and NHLPA’s new Player Inclusion Coalition.
“Our communications with the league have indicated to us that the NHL has no interest in working as a partner for a good cause, but rather seeks full autonomy over any initiative, even one with the best of intentions,” the HDA’s July 5 statement said.
It also called the Inclusion Coalition “laudable on its face, laughable in full context of the work we have been doing for three years without the league’s support.” And it described the NHL’s stated goal of advancing equality and inclusion in the sport of hockey on and off the ice not just as echoing the HDA’s goals but a “cynical attempt to appropriate them.”
The HDA’s board includes chair Aliu, Trevor Daley, Anthony Duclair, Matt Dumba, Nazem Kadri, Wayne Simmonds, Chris Stewart and Joel Ward. As mentioned in the July 5 statement, last winter, 230 BIPOC youths from at risk and/or underserved communities played with equipment provided by the HDA. The HDA’s Grassroots hockey program includes ice and ball hockey programs as part of their Grassroots Original Hockey League.