Ex-National Hockey League player Akim Aliu has received a public apology from his former team after a 2011 photograph showing a staff member wearing blackface at a Halloween party resurfaced. The Colorado Eagles, a minor-league team affiliated with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, apologized for the incident and placed head equipment manager Tony Deynzer on administrative leave. “We are truly very sorry, and we will also assure you that this behavior is not and never will be acceptable in our organization,” the team said in an open letter to Aliu, CNN reports. Aliu told TMZ he was shocked when he arrived at the party to be greeted by Deynzer, who was dressed up as Aliu in blackface and wearing a custom jersey with Aliu’s nickname “Dreamer.” Aliu said: “The hardest thing about that... just how much planning went into that... He got my jersey made, so that means this was planned in advance.” However, because he was new at the club at the time, Aliu said he felt forced to “play it off as cool as possible.”
They told him to come late, because the equipment mgr needed more time to make a custom jersey with Akim Aliu's nickname on the back, don an afro wig and blackface. The head coach at the time is now the Pres. & GM. The equipment mgr is still there too. https://t.co/xXeBmeTGIQpic.twitter.com/xUuE3nCXuz
