Coach Out After Being Accused of Slur Years Ago

Bill Peters is no longer the coach of the Calgary Flames, after a former player accused him of using a racial slur against him a decade ago in the minor leagues. The NHL team announced Friday that Peters resigned, ESPN reports, and is no longer in the organization. Akim Aliu, who was coached by Peters on the 2009-10 Rockford IceHogs, posted the accusation Monday on Twitter, saying Peters "dropped the N bomb several times towards me in the dressing room in my rookie year because he didn't like my choice of music." In a letter to Aliu this week, Peters said the outburst came "in a moment of frustration." The coach added that, "Although it was an isolated and immediately regrettable incident, I take responsibility for what I said.''

Aliu called Peters' letter, which also had been sent to the Flames, "misleading, insincere and concerning." Allegations of physical abuse of players by Peters, 53, then surfaced. Another former player, Michal Jordan, said Peters punched other players and kicked him when Peters coached the Carolina Hurricanes, a tenure that ended in 2018. Rod Brind’Amour, the team's current coach and an assistant there under Peters, said "for sure that happened," per WIVB. Peters was in his second season with the Flames. Geoff Ward was named interim coach. (More racial slurs stories.)