Listen

Statement from the National Hockey League: pic.twitter.com/F0AagVAg4e

— NHL (@NHL) June 1, 2020

I certainly am not the person to ask for prescient insight into the turmoil that is currently engulfing our country. I live in the Twin Cities metro area, but that proximity doesn’t grant me any particular vantage that might be instructive. In fact, given the demographic partition of Minneapolis, I might be uniquely unqualified to talk about what is going on.

Is the NHL’s statement a salve? Is it enough? I don’t know. I’m not the one to ask, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter anywhere outside of this website. What matters is introspection and real changes. My understanding, is that the best thing I can do right now is to listen, to understand and appreciate the gravity of the problems in our society.

If you were looking for a silver lining to the suspension of the sport we love, this is it. This is the chance to really buckle down and look within ourselves, without distraction. None of us have solutions, so let’s stop talking. Let’s all learn and grow. Let’s listen.

Edit: Please take the time to read All About the Jersey‘s call to action and highlights of the words of some prominent members of the NHL community.