Flames HC Bill Peters Apologizes for Using Racial Slur

Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters apologized to general manager Brad Treliving and the organization as a whole while an investigation into allegations of racist language and physical abuse continues.

Bob McKenzie of TSN shared Peters' letter, which said, in part, "Although it was an isolated and immediately regrettable incident, I take responsibility for what I said. ... I appreciate the thorough review of this situation being undertaken by the Flames. It's the right thing to do, and I support it fully."

Eric Francis of Sportsnet noted Peters is still employed by the team but is not with the club as it and the NHL investigate allegations from Akim Aliu that the coach used a racial slur a decade ago.

What's more, former Carolina Hurricane Michal Jordan said Peters physically abused him on the bench.

Both players made the allegations on Twitter:

"He walked in before a morning pre-game skate and said 'Hey Akim, I'm sick of you playing that n----r s--t,'" Aliu said, per Frank Seravalli of TSN. "He said 'I'm sick of hearing this n----rs f--king other n----rs in the ass stuff.'"

Seravalli noted Simon Pepin and Peter MacArthur, who were both teammates of Aliu on the AHL's Rockford IceHogs at the time, confirmed the incident happened.

"He then walked out like nothing ever happened," Aliu added. "You could hear a pin drop in the room, everything went dead silent. I just sat down in my stall, didn't say a word."

The NHL released a statement on the allegations: "The behavior that has been alleged is repugnant and unacceptable. We will have no further comment until we have had an opportunity to look into the matter more thoroughly."

As for the Jordan situation, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said it happened as well, per Sportsnet.

Brind'Amour was an assistant when Jordan played for Peters.