Portland Winterhawks forward Kishaun Gervais fist-bumps a young black fan. It's a photo Gervais posted to start a conversation among WHL players. (Instagram/Kishaun Gervais)

By Jeff D'Andrea

Black Lives Matter

Ex-Minto Gervais posts viral video about racial inequality with other WHL players

Jun 4, 2020 | 3:04 PM

Some say at times like these, silence is the enemy. Silence is compliance. Silence is betrayal.

Kishaun Gervais did not want to be silent — nor did his friends.

The former Prince Albert Mintos standout helped create a viral video speaking out about the Black Lives Matter movement with past and present Western Hockey League players, and what the movement means to them.

The video posted on Wednesday has over 31,200 views. It features Gervais, Seattle Thunderbirds Mekai Sanders and Lethbridge Hurricanes’ Zack Stringer, who all teamed up to create the video, as well as Vancouver Giants’ Justin Sourdif, Tri-City Americans graduate Jadon Joseph, Lethbridge Hurricanes’ Koletrane Wilson, Prince George Cougars’ graduate and now actor Klarc Wilson, Tri-City Americans’ Tyson Greenway and Ethan Price, formally with the Victoria Royals.

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Much like the Black Lives Matter movement, the video itself called for racial equality and unity.

“We’re not asking for black lives to be more important to anybody else. We’re not asking for extra attention. We just want the same. We just want to be considered equal to everyone,” Koletrane Wilson said in the video.

Gervais himself has experienced racism both on the ice and off it throughout his life. With hockey, he’s heard just about every racial insult and believes he has received less opportunity in the sport because of his race.

“I remember in hockey a lot of times I’ve been called names, slurs, everything in the book almost from people,” Gervais told paNOW. “I definitely felt that with some teams, I either didn’t make the team or I’d be buried on the fourth line because of the colour of my skin.”

Gervais said he didn’t “feel comfortable” due to racial tensions and bias, and felt that was lifted when he went to Prince Albert and eventually made the jump with the Portland Winterhawks this season.

“When I moved to Prince Albert, they treated me like equal. They never treated me out of place. They took me in as the hockey player I was and they saw me as the person I was,” Gervais said. “I think going back, that’s the reason I went to Prince Albert. It definitely helped me go back and play junior and then end up going to Portland where they treat everyone the same. They have a lot of minorities on the team.”

The idea for the video started after Gervais grabbed the attention of many, especially other black hockey players in the Western Hockey League, with a powerful photo. In the photo, Gervais fist-bumped a young black fan through the glass and included the caption “Our voices will be heard…✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽 #blacklivesmatter #justiceforgeorgefloyd”

Gervais said Stringer had the idea to do a short TikTok video about the Black Lives Matter movement with other players which everybody supported, but Gervais expanded the idea to make a full-blown video. All three reached out to past and present WHL players to get their thoughts on the movement, and Gervais edited the footage to put it all in one final video.

“I think it was important to me personally. I had a plan to say something, I just didn’t know what to say or what to do,” Gervais said. “I ended up posting a picture of me fist-bumping another black individual who was a little younger, through the glass, and that started a little bit of a trend of black hockey players in our league posting pictures on social because we have that platform. Zack and Mekai wanted to take it a step further and we wanted to get our voices heard.”

These times haven’t been easy on anybody. As Stringer lays out in the video, “The black community is hurting. I know I’m hurting seeing black, innocent people getting killed. It is hard to see and it is hard to think that every cop isn’t bad.”

But Gervais said seeing so many people speak out against racism and injustice has been what’s needed.

“It’s definitely difficult but it’s also inspiring seeing how many people black or white, whatever race you are, standing up and being together during this time. It was an on-going problem that was going on for years and years,” Gervais said. “Through many challenges, nobody really took it seriously. I think it’s good now that there are now people speaking up and speaking out because racism and discrimination has been going on for so long. I think it’s been a long time coming and I’m proud that so many people are finally speaking up.”

Moving forward

When asked what message he would like to send to white people watching this video and witnessing what’s going on in the world right now, Gervais said he hoped everybody could learn more about the situation.

“Just educate yourselves honestly that racism is a real thing, that white privilege is a real thing. Just to treat everyone as equals. We’re all human beings. We all bleed red. We all breathe the same air, so I don’t think anybody should be treated any different just because of the colour of your skin,” Gervais said. “Going forward, I think if everybody could stick together and have the right mindset, educate themselves and their children and their children’s children, I think if we could do that, 10 to 20 years in the future, maybe this problem won’t be as big as it is.”

Gervais founded a clothing company this February, Teddy Wear Clothing and is teaming up with Mekai Sanders and Zack Stringer and others to release a new Black Lives Matter hooded sweatshirt with the caption “don’t be silent, don’t be violent,” and will be releasing them soon.

Gervais scored eight goals and 17 points in 31 games with the Blackhawks this year. Gervais had 43 points in 37 games with the Mintos in the 2017-18 season.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW