NHL looks to prevent bullying, with help

By The Associated Press Sheldon Kennedy wants to make something clear. He isn’t here to save hockey. That’s not what he does with the Respect Group.

He just wants to help.

was benched for ine ectiveness. He wasn’t playing that well before a back injury put him on the bench. If things don’t pick up soon, he would be the guy to go to make room for a new Dub.

Now, I’m not yet advocating for a move. That would make mountains out of the molehills that were the last two games.

But I’m not saying the Warriors should rule out the possibility, either.

This decision is tricky. With Green sidelined until after the AllStar Game — perhaps decently into March, and the buyout deadline March 1, the Warriors might have to make a call on adding size without having seen Green back on the court.

The Warriors are a small team. There’s no getting around that. And in most cases, it’s a strength.

But if the Dubs don’t start play-

Was he worked over a bit by Randle? Of course. The Knicks power forward — perhaps the last true power forward in the NBA — had 28 points, thanks to eight made free throws. He also had 16 rebounds. No, Kuminga’s game wasn’t perfect, but it was still impressive.

So impressive that it’s hard to imagine qualifying his play with “he’s only 19 years old” anymore.

It’s truly jarring how far his game has come in such a short amount of time.

Damion Lee played with youcan’t-cut-me energy on Thursday night and it was needed for both Lee and his team.

Legitimately: Good for him. Not many teams can go to the end of the bench and grab a guy who can reasonably play 20 minutes a night and knock down a couple of 3-pointers.

And while it had been a while since Lee had done that, Thursday served as a reminder that he’s a nice piece for this team moving forward.

Kennedy’s Respect Group has partnered with the NHL for a training program designed to help prevent bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination. The training for league and club employees is slated to begin in March.

The program came together after an October report by an outside law firm found the Chicago Blackhawks badly mishandled Kyle Beach’s allegations when the former first-round draft pick said he was sexually assaulted by then-video coach Brad Aldrich during the team’s run to the 2010 Stanley Cup title.

Professional hockey also has been dealing with allegations of racism for years. Minor leaguers in the American Hockey League and the ECHL were suspended last month after they were accused of making racial gestures toward Black players.

Kennedy, 52, and Wayne McNeil started the Respect Group in 2004. According to Kennedy, the company has trained more than 1.8 million people.