Patrice Bergeron keeps a low profile off the ice, to the point where he doesn't have any social media accounts.
But the Boston Bruins center felt it was necessary to raise that profile following the murder of George Floyd.
Bergeron issued a statement Wednesday via the Bruins' Instagram and Twitter accounts reacting to a Minneapolis police officer's murder of an unarmed African-American man, which has sparked protests and cries for racial justice throughout the country.
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"As hockey players, we have a tendency to do our business while staying quiet, without wanting to make too much noise. It is our culture," Bergeron said in the statement.
"But surrounding the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed, it made me realize that by not speaking up on the matter, and not using my voice as a professional athlete, it’s in fact allowing racism to fester and continue. Silence is not an option for me anymore."
Bergeron also expressed a desire to "listen, educate myself and stand up for the Black community." The Bruins' alternate captain and Quebec native took action, as well, pledging donations of $25,000 each to the Boston branch of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and the Centre Multienthnique de Quebec.
Bergeron joins fellow Bruins veteran Zdeno Chara and many other Boston athletes advocating for justice and racial equality in America after a video emerged of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, killing the 46-year-old unarmed man.