The Colorado Avalanche’s AHL affiliate Eagles are suddenly caught up in the day of reckoning happening across hockey.
Photos emerged of their equipment manager, Tony Deynzer, dressed as Akim Aliu for a Halloween party. Normally, dressing as one of the players on your team wouldn’t be a big issue. However, Deynzer’s costume apparently called for him to do something beyond the pale — apply blackface.
Aliu was born in Nigeria, and he’s made news recently by speaking out about the abuse and racism he experienced, which partially derailed his career.
The photos that are surfacing, and that are published in the Wall Street Journal, are from the team’s official Halloween party in 2011.