Anders Lee on NBA, MLB protests: 'It's a great thing they're doing'
Anders Lee of the Islanders is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Flyers during the second period in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday in Toronto. Credit: Getty Images/Elsa
Islanders captain Anders Lee only learned of Wednesday’s boycotts in professional sports as he walked to his post-game press conference with NBA and Major League Baseball teams protesting social injustice.
But Lee, also the Islanders’ representative to the NHL Players’ Association, said he believed the topic was being discussed among players in his sport.
A Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot multiple times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Bucks were the first to declare they were boycotting their NBA playoff game on Wednesday.
“I think those conversations are going on,” Lee said after the Islanders' 4-3 overtime loss in Game 2 against the Flyers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. “We just got off the ice and I literally found out about it walking over to the microphone here. So, it’s something we’re going to have to look into. There’s a lot of things going on in the world that are unjust and a lot of inequalities happening. So, the NBA and those players are standing up for what they believe in and I think it’s a great thing they’re doing.”
Islanders coach Barry Trotz and right wing Josh Bailey both apologetically declined to speak on the topic, saying the questions they were being asked were the first they had heard of the day’s events.
My bad
Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said it was a “bad call” on his part challenging that Brock Nelson was offside on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s tying goal at 17:51 of the third period. The unsuccessful challenge gave the Islanders a power play which yielded two shots and two blocked shots.
Notes & quotes
Lee, with a game-high eight shots, and Anthony Beauvillier combined for 14 of the Islanders’ 34 shots…Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11-of-16 (69%) of his faceoffs…Vigneault inserted Game 1 healthy scratches left wing James van Riemsdyk and defenseman Robert Hagg for Scott Laughton and Shayne Gostisbehere, respectively, and moved captain Claude Giroux to Sean Couturier’s top line with Jakub Voracek while dropping left Michael Raffl to the fourth line.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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