The fire under Bill Peters’ seat as the Flames coach continues to grow hotter as the NHL investigates allegations of racism made by former Blackhawks prospect Akim Aliu.
Aliu, a Nigeria native, claimed Monday that Peters repeatedly called him the N-word while Peters was coaching and Aliu was playing for the Rockford IceHogs in 2009-10, and that Peters then asked Hawks executives Stan Bowman and John McDonough to demote Aliu to the ECHL.
The NHL and the Flames are now reportedly looking into Aliu’s claims about Peters, and Flames general manger Brad Treliving has announced Peters will not coach their game Wednesday in Buffalo, although he denied earlier reports he had been fired.
The Hawks, meanwhile, issued a statement denying organizational knowledge of Peters’ actions during his stint as Rockford coach, which lasted from 2008 to 2011.
“The alleged actions by a former coach toward Akim Aliu while with the Rockford IceHogs are something we take seriously,” the Hawks stated. “The purported incident had not been reported or brought to our attention prior to yesterday and had no effect on any player personnel decision regarding Mr. Aliu.”
Aliu elaborated on his description of the incident in a Tuesday interview with TSN’s Frank Seravalli, saying Peters called him the N-word in response to his locker room music taste, and did so again later in a one-on-one meeting. Seravalli reported two IceHogs teammates confirmed Aliu’s allegations.
Aliu clarified to Seravalli that his ECHL demotion occurred several weeks later, after he snapped back at Peters during a practice. He did not name-drop Bowman or McDonough again.
Sean McMorrow, a black player who made 25 appearances under Peters during the IceHogs’ 2008-09 season, also tweeted Tuesday, calling Peters a “horrible human being” who “treated me terrible.”
