Akim Aliu on black players encountering racism in hockey- "We almost tried to be white just to fit in"

In the new documentary Black Ice, former National Hockey League player Akim Aliu talked about his experience of facing racism as a player. The 34-year-old said in an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE that as a black person, he always felt like an outsider in hockey.

“I think for a lot of years — and it's kind of sad to say — for a lot of black players, just because of how few there was of us, we almost tried to be white just to fit into the culture of hockey and what what hockey stood for, for decades,” he said.

Aliu was born in Nigeria and was raised in Ukraine. He moved to Canada with his family at the age of eight. Kids made fun of his equipment, including his used skates and helmet, because they didn't have money to pay for pricey kits. This made him feel like he didn't belong to the NHL community. Aliu said,

“I was just trying to fit in, I was just trying to do the sport that all my friends were doing, and everybody in Canada was playing. But it seemed like the harder I tried, the more I didn't fit in.”

Akim Aliu’s professional hockey career

On August 25, 2008, Akim Aliu signed his first professional three-year contract with the Blackhawks. Aliu joined Rockford for two games at the end of the 2007–08 season. He played five games at the end of the 2008–09 season and two games at the beginning of the 2009–10 AHL season.

In 48 games, Aliu recorded 11 goals and six assists, but later in the season, he was sent to the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. His playing rights were traded to the Atlanta Thrashers after the season. He was part of a trade that sent Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Brent Sopel to Atlanta on June 23, 2010, in exchange for Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb, Jeremy Morin, and two draft selections.

Akim Aliu had three points in seven games throughout two seasons, which he has come from his time with the Calgary Flames. Besides the Flames, Aliu has had a remarkable performance with other teams like AIK IF, Amur Khabarovsk, HC '05 Banska Bystrica, Karlskrona HK, and even HC Litvinov.