It's been a bumpy road for Akim Aliu up to this point, following his decision to come forward with his story regarding former Calgary Flames Head Coach, Bill Peters. The feeling toward Aliu has been mostly supportive once the allegations were corroborated and, eventually, admitted to by Peters himself. However, some have been critical of Aliu's reluctance to come forward at the time of the incident, allowing a decade to pass before finally choosing to bring the news of Peters' racist behaviour to light.
While it's true that the world has adopted much more of an empathetic ear over the last decade, creating a stir over many contentious issues, especially racially motivated behaviour and other hot button subjects, such as gender bias and sexual orientation, the fact remains that such behaviour should not have been tolerated in the first place. We are all people, after all, and we all have the right to exist in this world, free of persecution.
Aliu met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly on Tuesday to discuss the Bill Peters situation in full. Following the meeting, Aliu commented that the discussions were great and that Daly and Bettman were very receptive. He continued on to thank everyone for the support he has been shown over this difficult stretch and offered a promise of “big change" coming and further commented that it's “long overdue.”
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