BUFFALO, N.Y. – The latest on allegations that current Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters made racist comments a decade ago (all times local):
8:40 p.m.
Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving says coach Bill Peters will not coach the team Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres.
Associate coach Geoff Ward, who oversaw practice on Tuesday, will handle the coaching duties.
Treliving had no other updates as the investigation continues into the allegation Peters directed racial slurs toward Akim Aliu when he and the Nigerian-born player were in the minors a decade ago.
1:15 p.m.
Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving says coach Bill Peters remains on the staff but wasn’t certain whether he’d be behind the bench for the next game.
The team and the NHL are both investigating an allegation the Peters directed racial slurs at a player 10 years ago when the two were in the minors. Akim Aliu, a Nigerian-born player, says Peters “dropped the N bomb several times” in a dressing room during his rookie year.
Peters has not commented on the allegation. Treliving apologized for not having many definitive answers at practice in Buffalo on Tuesday, a day before the Flames play the Sabres.
Peters was not at the arena while his players were on the ice. The GM says he had stayed at the team’s hotel. Flames associate coach Geoff Ward oversaw practice, which included a brief huddle with the players at centre ice.
Treliving understands the seriousness of the allegations and called them “repugnant” if true, while adding it’s his responsibility to find out exactly what happened.
11 a.m.
The NHL says it is investigating allegations Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters directed racial slurs toward Akim Aliu when he and the Nigerian-born player were in the minors a decade ago.
The NHL called the alleged behaviour “repugnant and unacceptable.” The league added it will have no further comment until it looks into what happened more thoroughly.
Aliu tweeted Monday 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 a lower minor league level.
The tweet did not name Peters specifically, 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.
Flames general manager Brad Treliving said the team is investigating the allegations Aliu raised during Calgary’s overtime loss at Pittsburgh. Peters was not made available following Monday night’s game.
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