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Jake Dowell was also part of the Rockford team with Bill Peters and Akim Aliu and says that Peters apologized for the racial slur directed at Aliu:
Being a leader in Rockford brought challenges for Dowell. During that first stint, Dowell was in the room when then-coach Bill Peters used the N-word in Akim Aliu’s presence. A lot of players swallowed their tongue then and have continued to now, even as Peters was fired by the Calgary Flames for his actions. Dowell thought it was important to address immediately and went to speak to Peters after it occurred.
“I did talk to Bill,” Dowell said. “I went into the office and did talk to him and said I think we need to address this. To his credit, in my recollection, he went in and addressed it. It was 10 years ago, so I don’t have a perfect memory of it. In my mind, I thought it was addressed with a sincere apology. Akim clearly has a different recollection of it. I commend him for standing up and making changes in hockey because this has really taken the hockey world by storm right now and it’s a big deal.
“I’m absolutely proud of myself talking to Bill and doing the right thing. I think Akim and Bill, I care about them both, so it means a lot to me. I didn’t want that situation to get out of control, and it’s more or less the right thing to do.”
Where are they now? Jake Dowell remembers close-knit 2009-10...
Being a leader in Rockford brought challenges for Dowell. During that first stint, Dowell was in the room when then-coach Bill Peters used the N-word in Akim Aliu’s presence. A lot of players swallowed their tongue then and have continued to now, even as Peters was fired by the Calgary Flames for his actions. Dowell thought it was important to address immediately and went to speak to Peters after it occurred.
“I did talk to Bill,” Dowell said. “I went into the office and did talk to him and said I think we need to address this. To his credit, in my recollection, he went in and addressed it. It was 10 years ago, so I don’t have a perfect memory of it. In my mind, I thought it was addressed with a sincere apology. Akim clearly has a different recollection of it. I commend him for standing up and making changes in hockey because this has really taken the hockey world by storm right now and it’s a big deal.
“I’m absolutely proud of myself talking to Bill and doing the right thing. I think Akim and Bill, I care about them both, so it means a lot to me. I didn’t want that situation to get out of control, and it’s more or less the right thing to do.”
Where are they now? Jake Dowell remembers close-knit 2009-10...