Before Sharks forward Evander Kane and six other current and former black NHL players announced the Hockey Diversity Alliance's formation on Monday, he and his peers spoke with the man whose protest nearly four years ago jumpstarted the conversation Kane's organization is trying to advance.
Kane said Tuesday that he was on their call with former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whom the newly formed group turned to for "invaluable" advice.
"He's been the leader of this whole movement from when he first took a knee (during the national anthem)," Kane said of Kaepernick on a conference call with reporters.