Hockey is the go-to “white sport” in constant conversation because of the alarming lack of diversity in the sport, especially compared to others. In my 14 years of playing Hockey, I only played against 2 African-Americans at any point. While there is a large monetary barrier to enter the sport keeping many people from ever playing, especially minorities, I believe the Hockey culture is to blame. This systemic injustice is shown through widespread racist actions from authority figures and peers while the overstanding Hockey administrations are always last to act for social change.
The Hockey culture is all about protecting their own and leaving a legacy. Almost every hockey player I knew growing up got into it because their dads made them play. Even when I played for higher-level travel hockey teams the coaches were still parents while my friends in other sports often had coaches that were a part of their sporting organization. Because of this authority figures in hockey carry a lot more weight with their words and unfortunately, this means racist actions from these authority figures have a big impact on the culture around them. One notorious example of authority figures making racist actions and/or comments is Bill Peters. Bill Peters was the head coach for the Calgary Flames, an NHL team in Canada. He was fired just last year for countless racist comments he had made after players finally stepped forward and reported his actions that were going unchecked for years.
While authority figures are often the spark for this injustice, it is carried on by the players in the locker room carrying on the coach’s sentimentality. Peers in the locker room are often unwelcoming to new players and the magnitude of this is greatly increased for minorities. Countless backhanded comments about playing the wrong sport and asking why they don’t play basketball are met with laughter rather than defense against injustice. Below I have a link to a TikTok of the regular behavior that African-American’s in the hockey community have to deal with in their everyday life.
The reason these racist actions take place is because of the systemic injustice in the community that is allowed by the overarching hockey powers. Every time athletes take action pushing for social change, hockey is always last. This was shown again this summer when Hockey was a day late again after Athletes across the country refused to play in wake of Jacob Blake’s death. Evander Kane, one of the most famous African-Americans in Hockey spoke a couple of months before about the injustice not only in hockey but in the world in general. In the interview, he calls for support from the most famous athletes in their respective sports like Tom Brady and Sydney Crosby. He says the only way for real change to happen is for the most popular people in the world who aren’t directly affected by the injustice to take a stand themselves.
Works Cited
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/evander-kane-says-athletes-need-speak-racism/
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJaTxcap/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/28/sports/hockey/bill-peters-nhl-calgary-flames-coach-fired.html
I think racism in sports is a very important issue that needs to be addressed. Sports are supposed to bring people together, of all different nationalities, and present solidarity. But with this issue lurking within, it’s impossible to achieve that. It’s also impossible to help individual players reach their best potential. I know Bill Peters also would bench players because of their race, which deliberately stunts their potential. I think a sense of urgency needs to be had in those who actually can speak and have influence, such as those who are not directly affected by systemic injustice.