Lightning goalie's mask honors greatest Black athletes

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Curtis McElhinney is letting his new mask do the talking. Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Lightning goaltender Curtis McElhinney's new mask features some of world's greatest Black athletes

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 8/28/20

The NHL can be oblivious when it comes to issues of social justice, but the players are beginning to educate themselves more on the topic.

As the league announced that games would not be played on Thursday or Friday, goalie mask painter David Leroux revealed the new mask he designed for Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Curtis McElhinney. The mask promotes racial equality, social justice and even has the words "Black Lives Matter" painted on it.

The mask was designed in conjunction with McElhinney's teammate Mathieu Joseph, who is one of the few Black players in the NHL. Some of the greatest Black athletes in history are featured on the mask, including Willie O'Ree, Alice Coachman, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali and also Martin Luther King Jr.

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This mask painted for Curtis Mcelhinney was designed with the help of Curtis teammate Mathieu Joseph. You can see some of the great black athletes in history. Willie o'ree Alice coachman Tommie Smith and John Carlos Jackie Robinson Muhammad ali Martin Luther King Jr. #blacklivesmatter Thanks to Curtis and Matt for your trust, that project ment a lot for me! @mathyjoz21 @mcelhinney_c30 @tblightning @nhl

A post shared by David Leroux (@dielairbrush) on Aug 27, 2020 at 3:38pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

This mask painted for Curtis Mcelhinney was designed with the help of Curtis teammate Mathieu Joseph. You can see some of the great black athletes in history. Willie o'ree Alice coachman Tommie Smith and John Carlos Jackie Robinson Muhammad ali Martin Luther King Jr. #blacklivesmatter Thanks to Curtis and Matt for your trust, that project ment a lot for me! @mathyjoz21 @mcelhinney_c30 @tblightning @nhl

A post shared by David Leroux (@dielairbrush) on Aug 27, 2020 at 3:43pm PDT

The Hockey Diversity Alliance called for the NHL to postpone games because doing so sends the message that human rights take priority over sports. Evander Kane, Wayne Simmonds, Matt Dumba, Anthony Duclair and Akim Aliu are among the players who called for the NHL to take a stand.

The boycotting of games began with the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic deciding to not play following the shooting of Jacob Blake. Various other leagues followed, including the WNBA, MLB, MLS and NFL.

Blake, an unarmed Black man, was shot seven times by police officers in Kenosha, Wisc., while trying to enter his vehicle after breaking up a fight between two women. His young children were in the vehicle at the time of the incident.

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