HOME / NEWS / SPORTS

Avalanche's Nazem Kadri faces death threats after collision injures Blues' Jordan Binnington

Local police were called to investigate threats against the Colorado Avalanche's Nazem Kadri after a contentious Game 3 at the Enterprise Center

The aftermath of a collision between Colorado Avalanche's Nazem Kadri and Blues goalie Jordan Binnington has taken a dangerous turn. According to the St Louis Post-Dispatch, St Louis police have been called to look into threats made against Kadri. In the first period of the Avalanche’s 5-2 win Saturday, May 21, Kadri collided with Blues defenseman Calle Rosen as a puck sat in front of St Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington’s crease. Kadri and Rosen fell into Binnington, and the three went sprawling into the net. Binnington suffered an injury on the play.

According to former pro hockey player Akim Aliu, Kadri has been on the receiving end of racist attacks and threats. Aliu wrote on Twitter, "Talked to @43_kadri About his inadvertent collision w Binnington. Naz has been subject to so many racist attacks and threats since last night that police had to be brought in. Racist attacks like this have no place in hockey and should be investigated and reported on".

RELATED ARTICLES

St Bonaventure Cheerleader storms out of NCAA basketball game after abuse by rival player

Asian American teen racially abused and punched in head by opponents during California basketball tournament

A user retweeted Aliu's tweet and shared a video. He wrote, "Kadri was not even going in the direction of Binnington until Rosen changed his trajectory!".

An Avalanche spokesman said in a statement, as reported by Post-Dispatch, that it was aware of the threats and would work with local police. Bill Daly, the NHL's deputy commissioner and chief legal officer, put out a statement in regards to the threats directed at Kadri, stating, "We take threats made to any of our Players or other Club personnel seriously. We are in touch with St Louis Police Department and they are employing enhanced security procedures both at the arena and in the hotel."

After Colorado's Game 3 win, Kadri explained the collision with Binnington on the TV program 'NHL on TNT'. He also told that Binnington threw a water bottle at him. "Just tried to poke the puck free, I think their weak side defenseman hit me and that's what caused the collision," Kadri said in the interview. "I hope he's all right. I'm not sure if he just threw a water bottle at me or not, but I mean, not much I can do, man."

'NHL on TNT' shared a video on Twitter and wrote, "For those who hate, that was for them. Nazem Kadri spoke to the panel about his performance in St Louis and dealing with the threats he received after Game 3."

Peter Baugh, Colorado Avalanche writer for The Athletic also tweeted. "I've talked to two people who confirmed it was indeed Jordan Binnington who threw the water bottle at Nazem Kadri," he wrote.

Besides the threatening tweets, some of the hate comments were Islamophobic. Kadri is Muslim and of Lebanese descent. Therefore, this was not the first time he fell for such a racist attack. Kadri also received racist messages following a suspension in last season’s postseason, which his wife, Ashley, shared on an Instagram page. “(T)his happens regularly for him,” she wrote at the time.