Devils Release Statement About Injustice

The Devils, yesterday, released an “Official Statement” on Facebook regarding racism and injustice.

Through the statement, the club said that “the racism, prejudice and injustice faced by the black community and people of color is unacceptable and has no place in our society. We must take it upon ourselves to support one another and strive towards greater accountability. The only way we will be able to address these important issues is to work together as a unified community and commit to the change that must happen. We understand that the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center are important communal assets and we are committed to using that stature to promote meaningful changes in our communities and in our country.”

The statement ended with the hashtag the team has been using throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: #WeAreOne.

Now, I do not usually like to get into politics on this blog. I feel that this blog, hockey and sports in general should be a place to watch and talk about to forget about the ills in life for a while. There are many other outlets for political talk on the Internet and I like to stick to the Devils and hockey.

The problem is, this is not really “politics.” This is about a systemic problem in our country that needs to be fixed and rectified.

The statement by the Devils obviously references the George Floyd incident in Minnesota. And it is great that the Devils made an effort to address it. The problem is, if they wrote a statement every time something like this happened to someone of color, a Racially-Charged Incident Statement Writer would become a full-time position at the Devils’ offices.

That is a way to say that things like George Floyd’s death seem to be ingrained in our society. We need to figure out a way to come together and start righting the inequalities faced by minorities in the United States.

Now this is where I am going to go out on a limb and be a bit political. This November get out and vote. Now, I am not going to endorse a candidate or anything or tell you how you should vote, just keep in mind when you get to the polls that we need change.

The current administration has shown itself to be blind to the nation’s problems. Or perhaps, and this is more likely, they are incapable of serving anyone but themselves. They put millions of Americans’ lives at stake with the handling of the COVID-19 virus, they have used social media to incite violence by Americans against Americans, they blatantly make corrupt deals with nations hostile to the United States in exchange for personal gain and they have shown time and again that they care nothing for America or its people, only themselves.

They demean good American citizens, including men like John McCain, who actually fought in a war – no bone spurs or favors for daddy for him – and was wounded for his country, and continued to mock him even after he died and was no longer there to defend himself. They are racist, misogynist and hateful creeps who did not deserve the highest offices in the land and still do not deserve it.

The greed and dirty politics need to stop. We, as Americans, deserve better, not a group of rich, spoiled and insolent men who cry and withhold needed funding to states who need funding if that state’s governor hurts their feelings. These men act as if they are the height of machismo and manliness while it is all an act. It is all bluster that wears thin very fast. All they want to do is golf instead of lead while others die in their name. They have declared war on America in their own deceitful way. They have fought against the free press crying “free speech” only when it benefits them.

Once again, America deserves better and we need to start making changes to achieve the society that everyone else in the world – and we as a people – know we can achieve.