In the aftermath of the Avalanche’s Game 6 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights last week, Avalanche center Nazem Kadri was at the forefront of racism.
Kadri, 30, who is of Lebanese-Canadian heritage and a practicing Muslim, did not appear in Colorado’s second-round series and played just two playoff games before an eight-game suspension for an illegal check to the head kept him out the rest of the way.
Just days after the Avs’ season concluded, Kadri’s wife, Ashley Cave, shared posts on social media of hateful, racist and Islamophobic messages geared toward her husband.
“These racist comments Nazem received are disgusting,” she said, using an Instagram page devoted to their cat. “Just wanted to share a few of them with you but this happens regularly for him. This is Islamophobia. This has to stop.”
“Unfortunately, Nazem has received messages like this his entire career,” Ashley Cave said. “I guess you could say he has learned to ignore them. He was hesitant to allow me to share these but I really felt that as his wife I can not stay silent.”
The Avalanche responded to Mile High Sports on Wednesday with a statement addressing the racist comments:
“It is unacceptable that Nazem Kadri and his family have had to endure vile racist and bigoted taunts on social media,” the statement reads. “No one, whether that be one of our players, staff, fans or a member of our community, should ever be subject to racism or bigotry. We stand with the Kadri family in denouncing racism and intolerance.”
This came just days after Kadri shared his support toward a Muslim family in his hometown of London, Ontario that was tragically murdered.
The family of five was waiting at an intersection in the Canadian city when a driver intentionally mounted the curb and struck them, killing four, because of their Islamic faith, officials told CNN.
Kadri addressed the attacks on the eve of Game 6, saying “may love always be stronger than hate.”
Heartbreaking watching my community of London being terrorized by such a senseless, cowardly act. We will continue to conquer racism together. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families 🙏🏽May love always be stronger than hate
— Nazem Kadri (@43_Kadri) June 8, 2021
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Aarif Deen is our Colorado Avalanche beat reporter. He covers Avs games live from Ball Arena and attends practices, media availabilities and other events pertaining to the Avs on the daily beat. He is also a co-host of Hockey Mountain High: Your go-to Avalanche podcast. Deen joined Mile High Sports upon completion of his bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in business administration from the University of Michigan – Dearborn. Before Mile High Sports, Deen worked for the Michigan Wolverines Athletics Department as the assistant sports information director.
Follow him on Twitter @runwriteAarif