Joel Ward is one of NHL’s very few African American Players that could kneel for National Anthem

Joel Ward isn’t ruling out the likelihood that he might turn out to be the 1st National hockey league player to become part of the demonstrations taking place across the NFL, by taking a knee during the playing of Americas national anthem in an upcoming Sharks NHL game.

Among roughly Thirty black gamer’s within the NHL, Ward received first-hand exposure to racial discrimination. He sure knows just what it’s like to be racially showcased with the police force, and now with the over stated claims used by US President Donald Trump towards Dark-colored PEACEFUL protesters within the National football league and National basketball association.

“It’s undoubtedly some thing I would not cross out,” Ward reported whenever questioned by the CTN News Media whether he’d take a knee during the anthem in a future Sharks game.

“I’ve experienced a great deal of racial discrimination myself personally within hockey as well as on a day-to-day occurrence. I haven’t genuinely sat right down to think it over a lot yet, however i undoubtedly wouldn’t avoid it.”

Ward, a Canada player who is the child of Barbadian migrants, experienced the pain of racial discrimination the very first time he laced on the skates to play in junior hockey as being a 9 or 10-year-old in Greater Toronto area.

Boys and girls have been calling him rude names and generating racial slurs from the public stands.

“I didn’t have a clue just what the words and phrases meant right up until my own mother and father informed me as to what was happening within my surroundings”.

“I been only a kid that fell deeply in love with the sport and grabbed the hockey stick”. “I didn’t truly consider it as color,” Ward explained.

As I became older and checked all over the locker rooms & dressings rooms, I noticed, I’m the sole dark-colored youngster within the entire arena.

“I’ve encountered bigotry being a child, being an adult. I believe I’ll constantly go through it.”

Racial discrimination followed Ward towards the NHL and also raised it’s unsightly head after he obtained a series-clinching goal with the Washington Capitals within extra time of Game Seven up against the Boston Bruins back in 2012.

Following the game, Ward got death provocations coming from Bruins enthusiasts on social websites whom addressed him using a torrent with racially-charged words.

However the bias in which Ward has experienced with his total life stretch past the rink.

Ward, that wears No. 42 for homage to Jackie Robinson, sympathizes with “Black Lives Matter” movements and also the national anthem demonstrations started off by Colin Kaepernick within the NFL previous year simply because he’s already been the topic of racial profiling through law enforcement all through his life.

“I’ve addressed it a great deal,” Ward mentioned. “I’ve experienced a few issues that have happened to me personally that one could say aren’t the standard. I’ve already been singled out in various events. I’ve recently been stopped. I’ve addressed racial discrimination to my face”.

“It’s been a part of my daily life which I have to cope with, then when folks go into Kaepernick and a few of those other fellas, stating that they’re disrespecting the American flag, its not the reason” said Ward.

“It’s about producing recognition and awareness to what individuals like me personally undergo over a day-to-day base, regardless of whether it’s visiting the mall or what ever.”

The experienced forward is actually pleased that National football league gamer’s are employing his or her statuses as professional sports athletes to increase awareness to problems with police force violence.

On Sunday, in excess of 200 American football players had taken a knee throughout the nation’s anthem, 3 teams, like the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks as well as the Tennessee Titans, remained inside the locker area in protest as the Star Spangled Banner had been performed.

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