Akim Aliu offers his support to former teammate and friend Kyle Beach

The outpouring of love and support for Kyle Beach has been heartwarming to see, following an interview with TSN's Rick Westhead on Wednesday, when he revealed himself as John Doe 1 in the lawsuit against the Chicago Blackhawks, stemming from sexual assault allegations back in 2010 that had been swept under the rug by the organization.

Since that time, we have seen several current and former NHLers step up and offer their support for Beach and voicing their opinions that the time for change is now. Some of these players include Brent Sopel, Taylor Hall and Sheldon Keefe - currently the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On Friday, another former NHLer added his name to the list of Beach's supporters - one who knows what it's like to have reported inappropriate behavior to the league and who is still awaiting change.

Akim Aliu, who was the target of racism and bullying during his very brief NHL career, is a former teammate and roommate of Beach from their time in the AHL, with the Rockford IceHogs. On Friday, he issued the following message of support for his colleague and friend.

"Beachy, my teammate, roommate and friend. Even though we were close, I'm sorry I didn't know what you were going through and I wish I could have helped. I'm so proud of you for your bravery and coming forward with your story. Fills me with so many emotions knowing we were a part of the same team and gave it our all to be NHL players, not knowing we never had a chance. A lot more work needs to be done in our game and society as a whole but your story has greatly accelerated those efforts."

Aliu is still doing what he can to fight the good fight as a member of the Hockey Diversity Alliance with several other BIPOC players, though the organization parted ways with the NHL back in October of 2020 due to a reported lack of action from the league.

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