Avalanche organization responds to racist and Islamophobic comments toward Nazem Kadri

By Aarif Deen

(MILE HIGH SPORTS) In the aftermath of the Avalanche’s Game 6 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights last week, Avalanche center Nazem Kadri was at the forefront of racism.

Kadri, 30, who is of Lebanese-Canadian heritage and a practicing Muslim, did not appear in Colorado’s second-round series and played just two playoff games before an eight-game suspension for an illegal check to the head kept him out the rest of the way.

Just days after the Avs’ season concluded, Kadri’s wife, Ashley Cave, shared posts on social media of hateful, racist and Islamophobic messages geared toward her husband.

“These racist comments Nazem received are disgusting,” she said, using an Instagram page devoted to their cat. “Just wanted to share a few of them with you but this happens regularly for him. This is Islamophobia. This has to stop.”

The posts shared screenshots of direct messages from hockey fans that targeted Kadri, his Islamic beliefs and Arab-Canadian heritage.

“Unfortunately, Nazem has received messages like this his entire career,” Ashley Cave said. “I guess you could say he has learned to ignore them. He was hesitant to allow me to share these but I really felt that as his wife I can not stay silent.”

The Avalanche responded to Mile High Sports on Wednesday with a statement addressing the racist comments: