K’Andre Miller on racial issues, the Rangers still silent

New York Rangers prospect K’Andre Miller reacted to the death of George Floyd and his own experiences

New York Rangers K’Andre Miller weighed in on the death of George Floyd through Twitter and related  his experiences as a minority growing up in a predominantly white hockey world  Also, for the first time, he openly discussed the racist language he was subjected to when doing a live internet chat for the team after he signed his contract.

"“I’ve struggled for months to find the words to express my frustration and anger over the Zoom conference call incident when I was to be introduced after signing my NHL contract.  It’s something that I won’t ever forget.”"

Miller related that he didn’t address it at the time because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  He said “It seemed like there were so many other priorities in the world, that it wasn’t in my place to speak out about that incident.”

With the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, he felt it was time to speak out. In a lengthy Twitter message he addressed the issue of racism, saying “In the midst of the senseless death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, the peaceful protests and violent riots have become the focus for all of us.  I want to express my growing concern for the safety of our citizens of color, specifically in my home state, given recent events.  I support the Black Lives Matter movement. ”

Miller is a native of Hopkins, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. He learned how to play hockey there and was on the Minnetonka High School team before joining the U.S. National Development team.  He address growing up in Minnesota and racism he encountered.

“I struggle because I’ve never been fully accepted by either the black community or the white community. I struggle because for years I have been one of the only people of color on my hockey teams. I have been targeted because of my race when I was in youth hockey by some coaches, parents and players, but I refused to give up because of my love for the game.”

Miller concluded by relating how thrilling it was to be drafted by the Rangers.  He said “For that one moment in time I didn’t have to be defined by the color of my skin but rather on my hockey skills, athletic ability and character. This is how it should be all the time. It’s time for action, time for change and once and for all, it’s time to let black people be judged based on who we are not what we look like.”

You can see the entire Twitter message here.

It was a courageous message from a young man with a bright future in New York.  Barely 20 years old, it was a message that everyone should hear.

Other players weigh in

Until the last 24 hours, we haven’t heard much from Ranger players with only some messages from former players,  prospect Ty Ronning, and Tony DeAngelo who is one of the most active on social media.

While DeAngelo had previously retweeted some messages, he has now contributed to the dialogue with a lengthy message.

Ironically, with DeAngelo the first active Ranger to comment about the situation, he had to put a disclaimer on the Tweet, anticipating that he will be called out by others.  DeAngelo has been supportive of Donald Trump and that has created some hateful responses, but in this message, he clearly laid out what his feelings are.

Jacob Trouba also contributed the dialogue, citing his need to learn and acknowledging that he is a “privileged while male.”  In a series of Tweets, Trouba spoke about his lack of awareness and the need for all to listen and learn.

Vinni Lettieri, a Minnesota native, also  weighed in and also retweeted some other messages.

The Rangers organization

Meanwhile, the Rangers continue to be silent publicly when it comes to the death of George Floyd and the issue of racial inequality.  The Madison Square Garden company, parent company of the Rangers and Knicks, has taken some heat, particularly in NBA circles where the Knicks are the only team to not make any kind of public statement.

An internal message was obtained and published by ESPN. In an email to Garden employees, owner James Dolan detailed the company’s perspective when it comes to public messaging.

"“We at Madison Square Garden stand by our values of a respectful and peaceful workplace. We always will.  As companies in the business of sports and entertainment, we are not any more qualified than anyone else to offer our opinion on social matters.What we say to each other matters. How we treat each other matters. And that’s what will get us through this difficult time.” – James Dolan, Owner"

In the email, Dolan acknowledged that many employees were wondering why the company had not made  any public statement.  Dolan concluded, writing  “We at Madison Square Garden stand by our values of respect and peaceful workplace. We always will.”

Again, this was an internal email only to employees and was not intended to be a public message.

Practically every NHL team has issued a statement reinforcing the need for healing and ending racial inequality.   Many teams, including the Islanders and Devils have acknowledged Blackout Tuesday, an initiative begun by music industry executives.  The idea was that Tuesday, June 2  would be “a day to pause all business and take a stand against the racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard.”

#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/14a6Ud770Y

Support for the movement is in the form of individuals and organizations posting all black pictures to social media platforms.

The New York Rangers Twitter account continues to ignore the current events.  Here is the first message on the feed, dated May 30.  It is followed by a Tweet about pizza toppings.

To be fair, the New York Rangers are part of a larger corporation and it’s likely that they are following orders from above.  That could account for the lack of any kind of messaging or retweets of messages from their own players.

However, in light of the comments of one of their future stars and two important players, along with the criticism of the team for their slow response to the incident involving K’Andre Miller, it seems a little tone deaf to maintain (in the words of the owner)  that they are “not qualified to offer our opinion on social matters.”

Writer’s note: We added a Twitter comment from Vinnie Lettieri that he posted yesterday.