![]() ![]() Sad thing is I listened to you.- Steve Downie December 24, 2016 Sorry Don, but you called me a pussy for wearing a visor and trying to protect my eyes. Wish I never played.- Steve Downie December 24, 2016 I still think about what I did to Dean macomond and what I caused him to go through with his family.- Steve Downie December 24, 2016īut again, I did what don cherry said to do every Saturday night. Nothing good comes from those vids- Steve Downie December 24, 2016 That hit is what happens when you watch don cherry rock em sock em videos from age 5 to 18. That said, no one has ever gone after Don the way that Steve Downie did last night on Twitter: While Cherry’s undoubtedly popular, he’s also divisive - in recent years, there have been more and more rumblings about his place in the hockey hierarchy. Cherry has spent his broadcasting career lionizing enforcers, gritty players who triumph over their more skilled counterparts, and good Canadian boys that’ll do anything to help their team win. Don Cherry is important to hockey discourse, no matter how outdated some of his ideas may seem.Ĭherry also symbolizes a certain way of thinking about hockey (and about being Canadian, and being a man, and lots of other things that necessitate more attention from someone more qualified than myself). No other hockey personality finished higher than Grapes (Gretzky was 10th). ![]() ![]() Lest we forget, Cherry was once named the 7th greatest Canadian of all-time by his compatriots. That’s not an accident: for over 30 years, Cherry has shaped the way we think about the NHL. So far, Downie has not publicly commented on the allegations - but if he does, we will include that in this post.*Editor’s note: This column contains strong language.*įor many Canadians, Don Cherry is hockey. We've made repeated efforts to contact Downie for his side of the story - reaching out his former agent, calling numbers connected to him and even trying to contact him through social media. including blackface costumes and n-word rants by team officials including former Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters. And I know it even more now."ģ1-year-old Aliu has previously made headlines for exposing several horrible racist incidents he was forced to deal with on his journey through the hockey ranks. I was attacked because of the color of my skin. He looked at me and saw a black boy with a weird accent - and didn’t like me because of it. "He had nothing but hate in his heart back then. "I don’t really give a crap what he thinks about the way I just described him. Blood gushing down."Īkim says he felt forced to drop his gloves and fight Downie in an effort to save face in front of his teammates.Īkim goes directly at Downie in the article - saying, "I went through hell at the hands of a racist sociopath." but Akim refused.īecause he refused, Akim says Downie "shoved his fiberglass stick through my mouth." "He was two years older than me and a rising star, and he wielded his power over me like I was nothing - like I was subhuman."Īliu also says Downie and other teammates tried to strip him naked on the back of the team bus with other rookies as part of a hazing ritual. He’d make fun of my clothes, the way I spoke." "And then he began to belittle me in front of my teammates, the coaches, whoever would listen to him. "Then he took my gear outside and threw it on the roof." "First couple of practices he put Tiger Balm in my jock," Aliu says. detailing several alleged incidents of abuse at the hands of Downie.įYI, 33-year-old Downie was a 1st round NHL Draft pick in 2005 - and played 9 seasons in the league.īut, Aliu says before he got to the big stage, Downie terrorized him while both players were members of the Windsor Spitfires, a team in the OHL - the best junior league in Canada. and the allegations are shocking.Īliu - who is black - spelled out the whole thing in a strongly worded op-ed for The Player's Tribune. Akim Aliu says ex-NHL player Steve Downie is a "racist sociopath" who "made my life a living hell" during their junior hockey days. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |