Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters apologizes to former player Akim Aliu for calling him the n-word amid NHL probe and claims it was ‘isolated and immediately regrettable’ and doesn’t reflect his ‘personal values’
- Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters is being investigated by the NFL after former player Akim Aliu, who is black, recalled his use of the slur on social media
- Peters issued the apology in a letter to the Calgary’s general manager that acknowledges the incident
- He calls the it an ‘isolated and immediately regrettable incident’, and ‘a moment of frustration. Peters, who is white, adds it ‘does not reflect my personal values’
Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters has apologized to former player Akim Aliu for calling him the n-word in a locker room at a minor league hockey match a decade ago.
Peters, who is white, issued the apology after the Aberta-based NHL franchise opened an investigation in response to Aliu’s mention of the incident on social media on Monday.
Peters wrote to the Flames’ general manager two days later to acknowledge the incident and apologize.
Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters (pictured) has apologized to former player Akim Aliu for using the n-word against him in a minor league hockey locker room a decade ago
The Flames are looking into the incident after Akim Aliu, a Nigerian-born former hockey player tweeted about Peter’s use of the offensive word a decade ago in the minor leagues
‘Although it was an isolated and immediately regrettable incident, I take responsibility for what I said. The statement was made in a moment of frustration and does not reflect my personal values’, Peters wrote in the letter, TSN reports
‘I meant no disrespect in what I said, and it was not directed at anyone in particular. But, that doesn’t matter; it was hurtful and demeaning. I am truly sorry’.
The NHL’s Calgary Flames are looking into the incident after the Nigerian-born former hockey player, who is black, posted about Peter’s use of the offensive word a decade ago in the minor leagues.
Aliu claims Peters then arranged for the player’s demotion when he complained.
The former player’s tweet said that Peters ‘dropped the N bomb several times towards me in the dressing room in my rookie year because he didn’t like my choice of music’.
Aliu said he ‘rebelled against him’, and Peters responded by asking Chicago Blackhawks executives John McDonough and Stan Bowman to send Aliu to the minor leagues.
The tweet did not name Peters, but referred to a ‘protege’ of fired Toronto coach Mike Babcock’s who is now with the Flames. Babcock has been a mentor to Peters since Babcock coached him in college.
Aliu’s tweet about the incident (pictured) did not name Peters, but referred to a ‘protege’ of fired Toronto coach Mike Babcock’s who is now in Calgary. Babcock has been a mentor to Peters since Babcock coached him in college
The second half of Aliu’s tweet recalling Peters’ use of the slur is pictured above
‘And instead of remedying the situation, he wrote a letter to John McDonough and Stan Bowman to have me sent down to the ECHL’, Aliu tweeted. ’20 year old on pace for 20 goals in his first pro year with zero PP/PK time was off to a great start’.
Flames general manager Brad Treliving has confirmed the investigation.
Flames general manager Brad Treliving (pictured) confirmed the NHL team is looking into the allegation made against Peters
‘We’re aware of a tweet from former player Akim Aliu’, Treliving said. ‘And obviously, we’re playing, so I haven’t had the chance to sit down with Bill or our people internally to talk about this and get to the bottom of it. We take these matters very, very seriously’.
He added that the Flames ‘will address it and get back to you people once we have a chance to speak internally’.
Aliu played under Peters in the Blackhawks system with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.
Aliu (pictured) played under Peters in the Blackhawks system with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. He was demoted to the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL during the 2009-10 season
He was demoted to the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL during the 2009-10 season. Aliu, who was born in Africa but raised in Ukraine and Canada, later played seven NHL games over two seasons with Calgary.
Peters is in his second full season as the Flames’ coach.
Peters is in his second full season as the Flames’ coach.
Peters previously coached in Carolina from 2014 until 2018, but failed to make the playoffs in his four seasons at the helm.
He also coached such current NHL stars as Ryan O’Reilly and Evander Kane on the gold-medal winning Canadian under-18 team at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.