Tag Archives: J.T. Brown

J.T. Brown claimed off waivers by Anaheim Ducks

15 Monday Jan 2018

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Forward J.T. Brown has gone from a being a Bolt to a Duck.

Tampa Bay Lightning placed right wing J.T. Brown on waivers Saturday.

The Anaheim Ducks claimed Brown on Sunday after the Tampa Bay Lightning placed him on waivers Saturday.

Brown became the only National Hockey League player to conduct a silent protest during the playing of the U.S. national anthem to draw attention to racial inequities and police brutality in America.

He raised his fist skyward during the Star Spangled Banner before an Oct. 7 game between the Lightning and Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla.

Brown received death threats for the gesture, which he discontinued after the first time. But the threats didn’t quell his community activism. He worked with the Tampa Police Department, going on ride-alongs with officers.

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Before the 2017-18 season began, Brown donated $1,500 to help pay for the removal of a Confederate monument from Tampa’s downtown courthouse.

Brown had only 1 goal and 3 assists for the Lightning and appeared in only 24 of the team’s first 44 games this season.

Brown has no hard feeling over being waived. He thanked the organization and Tampa Bay hockey fans in a lengthy tweet on Sunday.

“I’m excited for this opportunity and the next chapter of my career. Let’s go Ducks!” he tweeted.

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TB Lightning waive J.T. Brown, the first NHL player to protest during anthem

13 Saturday Jan 2018

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The Tampa Bay Lightning placed right wing J.T. Brown on waivers Saturday.

Brown was the first National Hockey League player to engage in a silent protest during the playing of the U.S. national anthem to draw attention to racial inequities and police brutality in America.

Tampa Bay Lightning placed right wing J.T. Brown on waivers Saturday.

If Brown clears waivers, the Lightning will assign him to the Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay’s American Hockey League farm team. Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman told The Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith that the waive was about creating roster flexibility.

“I wanted flexibility within our roster, when the time comes, to recall players currently excelling in Syracuse and give them an opportunity to play,” Yzerman told Smith.

Brown, a five-season NHL veteran, has had an uneven 2017-18 season in Tampa Bay. He’s only appeared in 24 of the team’s first 44 games this season and has tallied only 1 goal and 3 assists.

He drew national attention on October 7, 2017 when he became the first NHL player to stage a silent protest during the national anthem, raising his fist in the air on the bench as the song played.

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Several National Football League and National Basketball Association players, most of them black, have dropped to one knee, raised a clenched fist skyward, or engaged in some other form of silent protest to highlight what they consider poor treatment of African-American and other minorities in the United States.

President Donald Trump lashed out at athletes who protest during the national anthem, accusing them of showing disrespect for the American flag and a “total disrespect of our heritage, a total disrespect for everything we stand for.”

Brown said he decided to protest because “there comes a time when you cannot remain silent, hoping and wishing for change.”

“I also want to reiterate that this is not and has never been about the military or disrespecting the flag,” Brown said in an October tweet. “It’s about police brutality, racial injustice, and inequality in this country. It is something that I and many others feel needs to be addressed. I love my country, but that doesn’t mean I cannot acknowledge that it is not perfect.”

Brown backed up his protest with a search for understanding. He worked with the Tampa Police Department, including going on ride-alongs with officers in some of the city’s troubled areas.

A 27-year-old Minnesota native, Brown has been a community fixture in Tampa. He donated $1,500 last August as part of an effort to privately raise $140,000 that county officials said would be required to remove a Confederate monument from Tampa’s downtown courthouse.

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USA Hockey’s K’Andre Miller proves that looks, and stereotypes, can be deceiving

07 Tuesday Nov 2017

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K’Andre Miller remembers getting occasional odd looks or sometimes racially-coded responses after telling people what sport he plays.

K’Andre Miller, defense, USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

“They didn’t see me as ‘the hockey player type.’ I was a long, skinny kid. I looked like a basketball player,” Miller told me recently. “Every time I would go out to eat, people would be, like, ‘Oh, you play basketball, don’t you?’ I’d be like, ‘No, I actually play hockey.’ And they’d be like ‘Wow, you don’t really look like that type of player.'”

As a defenseman on USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 squad, Miller is proving them wrong.

The 6-foot-3, 191-pound 17-year-old from Minnetonka, Minnesota, is blossoming into a blue-chip blue-liner for the NTDP after making the switch from forward only two season ago.

Miller, who’ll turn 18 on Jan. 21, will be eligible for the 2018 National Hockey League Draft in June in Dallas. NHL Central Scouting gave Miller a “B” rating last month, meaning he’s projected to be second or third-round pick.

He played in the 2017 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game in Buffalo, New York, in September. He’s tallied 2 assists in the U.S. National Under-18 team’s first 13 games of the 2017-18 season and notched 3 goals and 14 assists in 54 games for the Under-17 squad in 2016-17.

NHL Central Scouting projects defenseman K’Andre Miller to be a second or third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft in June (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, the national team development program competes internationally, and also plays U.S. colleges and teams in the United States Hockey League, the nation’s only Tier 1 junior league.

While Miller has his sights set on playing in the NHL, he’ll attend the University of Wisconsin first.

He’s committed to play for the Badgers and Head Coach Tony Granto – who’s also the bench boss for the 2018 U.S. Winter Olympics men’s hockey team in South Korea in February – starting in the 2018-19 season.

If  Miller achieves his NHL goal, give an assist to to Minnesota Wild team captain Mikko Koivu.

“For my ninth birthday, I went down to Dallas to watch the Stars play the Wild,” Miller told me. “We went down to the locker room after the game and Mikko came up to me, shook my hand, said happy birthday, and asked when the next time I would be at a home game in Minnesota because he was going to try to get me a stick.

K’Andre Miller looks forward to playing in the NHL someday. But first he’ll play for the University of Wisconsin, starting next season (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

“I went back to the rink in Minnesota about two months later and he picked me out in the stands, he had the trainer come up with a stick and hand it right to me,” Miller added. “That was probably the coolest experience I think I’ve ever had with an NHL player.”

That experience helped seal the deal for Miller wanting to become a professional hockey player. But Miller’s uncle, Ken, should also get an assist for exposing his nephew to the game at an early age.

“He would take me out on the rink when I was little,” Miller recalled. “I started skating when I was two and he kind of helped me, put a stick in my hand, kind of taught me the game.

“I’d go over to his house whenever I wanted to and just watch games with him,” he added. “One of the cool things I still like about my Uncle Ken is whenever I usually go over there, we play roller hockey in his backyard.”

K’Andre Miller, right, is all smiles playing for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Minnesota has produced several talented black hockey players, including Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, forwards Kyle Okposo of the Buffalo Sabres and J.T. Brown of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Keegan Iverson, a 2014 NHL draftee who plays for the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ American Hockey League farm team.

But that hasn’t stopped some folks from wondering what the tall black kid from Minnetonka is doing on the ice with a stick in his hand. Miller takes pride in showing doubters that he’s built for the NHL.

“It’s always been my motivation to prove to people that no matter what your skin color is, what you look like in general, you can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it,” he said. “When I see people of color in my community in Minnetonka and Hopkins trying to play hockey, I always go up to them whenever I can and straight-up tell them ‘Don’t listen to what anybody says. Play whatever you want to play, if it’s hockey, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, whatever you want to do. Just do it.'”

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An old school ex-player praises Tampa Bay Lightning’s J.T. Brown for ‘taking a stand’

09 Monday Oct 2017

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One thought raced through Bill Riley’s mind when he saw Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown raise his fist in the air Saturday and become the first National Hockey League player to engage in a silent protest during the playing of the U.S. national anthem.

Yes!

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing J.T. Brown is the first NHL player to protest during the U.S. national anthem.

“I think it’s good that he took a stand,” Riley, who became the National Hockey League’s third black player when he skated for  the Washington Capitals in 1974-75, told me. “Something had to be done.”

Brown conducted his protest in Sunrise, Florida, before the Lightning faced the home team Florida Panthers.

Riley, 67, saw it on TV from his Nova Scotia home. He watches a lot of U.S. news when he’s at home and is unnerved by what he sees: a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Va., organized by neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan supporters;  a spate of high-profile killings of African-Americans by law enforcement officers from Ferguson, Missouri, to Staten Island, New York; and a president who seems more concerned by National Football League players taking knees to protest the treatment of African-Americans than the damage Hurricane Maria caused to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Trump lashed out at athletes who protest during the national anthem, accusing them of displaying a total disrespect for the American flag, a “total disrespect of our heritage, a total disrespect of everything that we stand for.”

Riley respectfully disagrees.

Bill Riley, the NHL’s third black player, played in an era when black players didn’t talk publicly about the racial abuse they endured, let alone speak out about political topics.

“They’re not trying to cause trouble. They’re doing things in a peaceful way,” he told me. “They’re not disrespecting the flag, like people are saying. They are not doing it to disrespect the flag. They’re just trying to make a point.”

This from a hard-nosed, old-school former player who skated in an era when black players rarely spoke out publicly about the racial abuse they endured from fans, opposing players, and even teammates. Forget about taking a political stand.

“A lot of stuff you had to pretend you didn’t hear,” Riley told me. “Because you didn’t want to become a problem because they’d get rid of you.”

Riley said he hopes that doesn’t happen to Brown. The 27-year-old right wing isn’t a superstar – he tallied only 3 goals and 3 assists in 64 games with the lightning in 2016-17. But he is a popular player and active in the Tampa Bay community, especially when it comes to introducing the area’s kids of color to hockey.

Brown has taken some heat from fans for his protest  Saturday. But he’s also received support from Riley and others in the hockey world.

Riley said Brown’s defiant stance Saturday was refreshing and he hopes other NHL players follow his lead.

“I’d like to see more of the white players stand with some of these black guys,” he told me.

Brown told The Tampa Bay Times Joe Smith  that he raised his fist because “I wanted to do something to show my support.”

“There are some issues that we have to talk about,” Brown told Smith. “In my mind, I’m just trying to bring awareness and any type of conversation we can get started would be great.”

He elaborated further in a lengthy tweet Sunday, saying “there comes a time when you cannot remain silent, hoping and wishing for change.”

“I also want to reiterate that this is not and never has been about about the military or disrespecting the flag,” he tweeted. “It is about police brutality, racial injustice, and inequality in this country.It is something that I and many others feel needs to be addressed. I love my country, but that doesn’t mean I cannot acknowledge that it is not perfect.”

Brown added that “I have been through my fair share of racism both on and off the ice.” He said he’s received death threats and racist comments since his protest.

Brown, the son of former Minnesota Vikings running back Ted Brown, hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind on matters of race and politics. In September, he reached into his pockets and donated $1,500 to help get a Confederate monument removed from Tampa’s downtown courthouse.

He criticized Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coach Mike Tortorella in September 2016 for  vowing to bench any player  any player on the U.S. World Cup of Hockey team who conducted a protest during the national anthem as former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick did last season.

“Wouldn’t benching a black man for taking a stance only further prove Kap’s point of oppression? But hey,” Brown wrote in a tweet that went viral.

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J.T. Brown, Tampa Bay Lightning, take stand against Confederate monument

20 Sunday Aug 2017

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Tampa Bay Lightning right wing J.T. Brown was appalled by the violent images he saw from Charlottesville, Va., where neo-Nazis and white supremacists recently sought to march to ostensibly protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Army Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park.

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing J.T. Brown.

“It was hard to watch,” Brown told The Tampa Bay Times.

And he was annoyed that the city where he plies his trade also has a Confederate memorial, one he hopes his recently-born daughter will never have to see as she grows older.

So Brown reached into his pockets and donated $1,500 as part of an effort to privately raise the $140,000 that county officials said would be required to remove the Confederate monument from Tampa’s downtown courthouse.  The $140,000 goal was achieved in one day.

The deadly clash in Charlottesville “could have been in Tampa, could be anywhere in the country where the statues are,” Brown told The Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith.

“I was just thinking to myself, how was I going to explain to my daughter if she was old enough, how would I explain why someone doesn’t like her? Or why is this going on in the world today?” Brown told the Times. “For me that kind of re-motivated me to make sure I’m doing everything I can to make sure the community is a better place for her and everyone.”

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Brown’s team had his back. So did the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. The teams responded to a call from former Buccaneers Head Coach Tony Dungy to give so the Confederate statue could be moved.

Tampa’s major league sports teams issued a joint statement last Thursday that said “Now more than ever we must stand united and committed to diversity and inclusion as we all attempt to heal from the tragedy in Charlottesville.”

Brown told Smith that donating to the cause was a no-brainer because “I don’t think Confederacy is something that should be downtown in front of the courthouse.”

“You talk about dividing a community, that’s a very big symbol right there in the middle of the city,” said Brown, a Minnesota resident who had 3 goals and 3 assists in 64 regular season games for the Lightning last season.

Brown is among a small, but growing, group of professional athletes who aren’t afraid to weigh in on politically-sensitive issues.

He criticized Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coach Mike Tortorella last September when, as coach of the U.S. team in the World Cup of Hockey tournament, said he’s bench any player who conducted a protest during the playing of the national anthem as former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick did last season to protest the treatment of minorities in the United States.

“Wouldn’t benching a black man for taking a stance only further prove Kap’s point of oppression? But hey,” Brown wrote in a tweet that went viral.

Brown and the Lightning weren’t the only ones in the hockey world to respond to the events in Charlottesville. The Detroit Red Wings, dismayed and disgusted that some white nationalists were using the team’s iconic and trademarked winged wheel logo on shields, posters, and other items, threatened legal action.

“The Detroit Red Wings vehemently disagree with and are not associated in any way with the event taking place today in Charlottesville, Va.,” the team said in a statement “The Red Wings believe that hockey is for everyone, and we celebrate the great diversity of our fan base and our nation. We are exploring every possible legal action as it pertains to the misuse of our logo in this disturbing demonstration.”

The NHL expressed its displeasure, saying in a statement that  “We are obviously outraged by the irresponsible and improper use of our intellectual property as seen this weekend in Charlottesville, Va.”

“This specific use is directly contrary to the value of inclusiveness that our league prioritizes and champions,” the statement added. “We will take immediate and all necessary steps to insure the use is discontinued as promptly as possible and will vigorously pursue other remedies as appropriate.”

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Lightning’s J.T. Brown speaks out on Kaepernick protest, questions Tortorella

09 Friday Sep 2016

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Tampa Bay Lightning right wing J.T. Brown  has never been one to shy away from tough situations on the ice.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown.

And Brown showed this week that he’s not afraid to wade into tough territory off the ice, either. Via Twitter and in a newspaper interview, Brown questioned the wisdom of World Cup of Hockey Team USA Head Coach John Tortorella’s declaration that he’d bench any player who doesn’t stand for the national anthem like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has done to protest the treatment of minorities in the United States.

On Tuesday, Brown tweeted “Wouldn’t benching a black man for taking a stance only further prove Kap’s point of oppression? But hey.” His post went viral.

Brown later told The Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith he has “no ill will towards John Tortorella,” who’s the bench boss of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the National Hockey League season.

“He sees the situation through his reality and I see it through mine, as a black athlete in the NHL,” Brown told Smith. “I know I’m not on the United States World Cup roster, but I have had a chance to represent my country on other occasions. My tweet was hypothetical.”

Brown, a Minnesota native, added: “What if I took a stance to promote awareness for one of the many injustices still occurring in our country and was punished despite there being no rule or law against it? My tweet was a response to that question.”

He told The Times that he spoke out because “I don’t want young minorities who love the game of hockey to think that what’s going on in America today is going unnoticed by the hockey community.”

“I love America and thank the military for protecting our freedoms, as well as law enforcement for protecting and serving our communities, but that doesn’t mean I can’t acknowledge that there is still racism today,” Brown added. “I am glad my tweet provoked discussion, because we need to start having a discussion.”

Brown has no intention of sitting out the national anthem a la Kaepernick. Instead, “I will look for more opportunities to positively impact my community and bring awareness to racial issues.”

Brown scored 8 goals and 14 assists in 78 games for the Lightning last season. He was held without a goal but tallied 2 assists in nine playoff games.

Coaches of color help power Tampa Bay Lightning’s charge to Stanley Cup Final

31 Sunday May 2015

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When the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks face off Wednesday in the Stanley Cup Final opener, hockey fans will see two players of color who’ve been indispensable to their teams.

Right wing J.T. Brown has been a key role player for the Lightning ever since he was promoted from the American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch in 2013-14 after All-Star forward Steven Stamkos suffered an injury. The Blackhawks’ Johnny Oduya is vying for his second Stanley Cup and has grown into one of Chicago’s top defensemen.

What fans watching the final probably won’t see are two coaches of color who’ve been vital behind the scenes to the Lightning’s quest for the Cup.

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie coach Frantz Jean.

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie coach Frantz Jean.

Frantz Jean is the Lightning goalie coach who puts starting netminder Ben Bishop and backup Andrei Vasilevskiy through their paces in practice and strives to  keep them on an even keel during the emotional rollercoaster that is the playoffs.

Bishop out-dueled Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, a league Most Valuable Player candidate, and New York Rangers all-world netminder Henrik Lundqvist  in the playoffs to earn the right to face Chicago sharpshooters Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad in the final round.

“From our perspective, Ben’s doing nothing different,” Jean told The Tampa Tribune earlier in May. “Except now he’s on a bigger stage.”

Bishop heads into the Stanley Cup Final with a 12-8 playoff record, 2.15 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. During the 2014-15 regular season, Bishop won 40 games, fourth-best among NHL goalies, and lost only 13 contests. His 2.32 goals-against average was 15th best in the league.

Jean has presided over the Lightning organization’s goaltending since 2010. Under his tutelage, Tampa Bay goaltending prospects playing for the AHL Norfolk Admirals and ECHL Florida Everblades vied for league championships in 2012.

Then-Lightning property Dustin Tokarski – now with the Montreal Canadiens – finished the 2012 AHL playoffs with the best save percentage and goal-against average and led the league with 32 wins in the 2011-12 regular season.

Jean joined the Lightning organization after coaching for 12 years with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His Moncton netminders allowed the fewest goals in the league in the 1999-00, 2005-06, 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.

A Montreal native, Jean coached goalies on Hockey Canada’s Under-18 teams that won Gold Medals at Ivan Hlinka Memorial International Tournaments in 2009 and 2010.

In the six degrees of separation of the hockey world, Jean can take some credit if the Blackhawks defeat his Lightning for the Stanley Cup. He coached Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford at Moncton.

“I’ve seen him grow from a teen to a man,” Jean told CSN Chicago recently. “When I see the work he had to go into the minors, to pay his dues and learn to be a consistent goaltender and then to be able to duplicate that in the pros, I’m very proud of him.”

Crawford is apparently still fond of his old coach. “A great coach, an awesome guy,” he told The Tampa Times in 2013. “He was great technique-wise, and for my mental game, taking care of myself and learning that aspect, too, getting rest at the right time. He definitely helped me moving on to pro hockey.”

Lightning video coach Nigel Kirwan.

Lightning video coach Nigel Kirwan.

Jean is a newcomer to the Lightning when compared to video coach Nigel Kirwan. He’s been with the ‘Bolts since the team’s inaugural season in 1992. He worked in the Lightning’s ticket sales office before then-Head Coach Terry Crisp made him a video coach in the 1996-97 season.

Initially, he thought Crisp’s job offer was a joke.

“I basically told him to go fly a kite,” Kirwan told TampaBayLightning.com in 2012. “Crispy was a prankster and loved to rile the office up so my immediate reaction was that he was trying to get me going. I also had a report due to my boss that was already late so I told him to just get out of my office.”

But Crisp, now a studio analyst for the Nashville Predators, pressed Kirwan  because “I saw something in him,” he told TampaBayLightning.com. “He knew the game, he loved the game, and his personality fit right in with our staff. He fit right in like a hand in a glove,” Crisp added.

Now Kirwan serves as a keen set of eyes for Tampa Bay’s coaching staff and players. He breaks down pre-scout and game film and helps formulate scouting reports on opposing players.  He  performed the same tasks for Team USA at the 2008 and 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships.

Born in Jamaica and raised in Winnipeg, Kirwan hoisted the Stanley Cup when the Lightning won it in 2004. Only the Blackhawks stand in the way of him doing it again.