The New York Islanders took a moment during their final game of the season to promote a fundraiser for a former NYPD sergeant who was recently convicted of manslaughter. Yeah, sounds about right.
During Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Islanders’ jumbotron displayed a big QR code directing to a fundraiser put together with the Sergeants Benevolent Association, “in its fight for justice” for Erik Duran, a former cop sentenced to three to nine years for manslaughter for killing a suspect in 2023. There were no details provided by the team about what caused him to be convicted in the first place, because if those were made available, one might have concluded that he got off with a light sentence.
In August of 2023, Duran was part of an undercover drug sting in the Bronx, intended to target 30-year-old Eric Duprey. When Duprey tried to flee on a motorized scooter, Duran picked up a bystander’s cooler and threw it at Duprey, who crashed into a tree and was killed almost instantly. Duran was found guilty by a judge this past February and sentenced earlier this month.
Local police unions have been outraged at this injustice—the injustice being a cop held to account for his actions. SBA head Vincent Vallelong had the blessing of Islanders owner Jon Ledecky to put up the QR code soliciting funds. The reason we know this is because they took a photo together at the Islanders game with New York Post executive Pat Judge, the three of them smiling and holding up a Post front page with the headline “Jailed For Doing His Job” alongside a photo of Duran. According to the Post, a portion of Tuesday’s 50/50 raffle will also go to Duran’s legal fund. Jake Offenhartz of the Associated Press found out the origin of this jumbotron promotion:
The union’s president, Vincent Vallelong, said the fundraiser came together after someone at The New York Post informed him that the Islanders “wanted to do something” for Duran.
American pro sports teams by default love to respect cops, as well as troops, but this is a truly repulsive case. Duran killed a person who was fleeing the scene and posed no danger. Duprey, the suspect (of a needless buy-and-bust operation, mind you), sold a small amount of cocaine then tried to get away, and Duran killed him. It was all caught on video. The police unions are going to cry and pretend to be the victim, in their natural way, but it’s reprehensible for a professional hockey team to take up the cause.
Perhaps the Islanders were emboldened by seeing James Dolan recently use the Rangers to kiss police ass, and believed they could go a step further and get their fans to send money. These days it seems that the NHL teams in the New York metro area only exist to embarrass themselves and miss the playoffs.
Recommended