It never has been. I had to fight for my life."Īliu received treatment before returning to the ice to fight Downie, who was suspended for five games.
"That was when I knew – this game, it’s not for me. Blood gushing down my chest into my pants. "I turned and he shoved his fiberglass stick through my mouth.
"That same kid - the guy who went on to play over 400 NHL games - came up to me a few days after I refused to take part in his horrific ritual and tapped me on the shoulder during a practice. "Instead, they had to hear about my refusal to strip naked and get in a bathroom in the back of the team bus with three other rookies. Also on rt.com 'Misogynistic & reprehensible': NHL condemns pair after group chat comments leaked about women & fellow players "I dreamed of my parents reading in the paper back home about their son scoring a hat trick in his first game, or leading his team to the playoffs," he told The Players Tribune. The Ukrainian-Canadian, who was born in Nigeria and moved to Toronto via Kiev as a child, has lamented a backdrop of "racism, misogyny, bullying and homophobia" that "permeates the culture" of hockey.Īliu arrived in Ontario to pursue his professional career as a 16-year-old, where he said he was subjected to degrading strip rituals and suffered humiliation at the hands of teammate Steve Downie, who added lotion to his pants, stole his clothes and treated him as "subhuman", according to the wing. Akim Aliu has called former NHL star Steve Downie a "racist sociopath" and recounted the harrowing training ground assault when he was attacked in the face with a stick, adding that the sport is plagued by prejudice and bullying.
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