Blake Wheeler got a text from his dad the other day.
In the message, James Wheeler told his son about growing up in Detroit in the late 1960s when the city and country were wracked by race riots and deep, painful divisions in society.
"My generation didn't get it right," James Wheeler wrote. "Hopefully yours does."
With that front of mind, Blake Wheeler is done staying silent. The captain of the Winnipeg Jets wishes he'd spoken up sooner.
He didn't. But now he wants to use his platform as a white professional athlete to push for change on the issues of racism and inequality.