We can teach it, preach it, and believe it, but the unfortunate truth is that even in 2022, racism and bigotry still exist in our daily lives. The hockey community has always been a tight knit one, so when something tragic happens, we all feel it. If you saw the recent video of Jacksonville Icemen defenseman Jacob Panetta making an inappropriate and racially charged gesture towards Jordan Subban, you’ll understand exactly why celebrating diversity on the ice is so important. Panetta was suspended for the remainder of the season, but the damage had already been done. Subban is the younger brother of NHL players PK and Malcolm Subban, the former of which has been discriminated against on social media in the past during his time with the Montreal Canadiens.
Diversity hasn’t always been a strong point of the NHL, but the league is taking up the fight against racism, especially with the large influx of non-caucasian players entering the league. Hockey, which has historically been a primarily white sport, lags behind other professional leagues like the NBA in creating a truly diverse and global game. The NHL is represented by athletes from 18 different countries, while the NBA features nearly 50, including legitimate superstars from every continent. Recent NBA MVPs include Nikola Jokic from Serbia and Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece, while this year’s front runner is Joel Embiid from the African nation of Cameroon.
The Old Narrative Needs to Go
For years, Don Cherry promoted anti-European rhetoric on Hockey Night in Canada. We get it, we can admire being a patriotic Canadian as much as the next person, but Cherry’s rants were constantly toeing the line of controversy. The long-standing narrative that North American players play harder than European players has to stop. One only needs to watch Alex Ovechkin play for a few minutes to realize how much things have changed.
What about other tough European players like Nicklas Kronwell or Thomas Holmstrom? Peter Forsberg was as tough and strong a player as you will ever see, and see how long you last in the corners against Zdeno Chara. If the NHL wants to ensure a new generation of diverse players, it will need to dispel long-standing and discriminatory attitudes towards international players.
#TapeOutHate
Budweiser and the Hockey Diversity Alliance recently released a campaign called #TapeOutHate which takes aim at racism on the ice. The alliance is selling a special hockey tape that has the words ‘racism has no place in hockey’ written on it. The HDA was created in 2020 by several NHL players of different ethnic backgrounds who were united by the shared trauma they felt by enduring racial slurs during their youth. Players like Anthony Duclair, Nazem Kadri, and Matt Dumba joined forces to create the alliance, and are now bringing forth the #TapeOutHate campaign to bring awareness to the cause.
The group put together a video featuring NHLers like Wayne Simmonds, who speak candidly about enduring racial discrimination from fans, coaches, and other players. The censored version of the video will be played on Hockey Night in Canada, while the uncensored version can be found online.
As more players from increasingly diverse backgrounds make their way to the NHL, the HDA should continue to expand and make a bigger impact on the culture of the game. There is a hope that taking these strides can eliminate encounters like the one Jordan Subban had to face just last month. If the NHL can send a positive message to its players and fans, then there will be a trickle down effect throughout the hockey world.
An Ever-Changing Game
The wonderful thing about hockey is the second you put on a jersey and helmet, you become a hockey player no matter what your ethnicity is. The real change needs to come from the parents at the youth hockey level. Canada has always been a multicultural country, and hockey has been a sport that is woven into the fabric of our culture. Whether it is the Punjabi broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada or the French broadcast of a Montreal Canadiens game, hockey always manages to transcend language.
Teaching our children that hockey is a game for everyone is an important first step in eliminating prejudice and keeping the game we all love as beautiful as it is. People from all ethnicities, religion, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status can enjoy hockey and should be able to play the game without any fear or judgment. Truth be told, perhaps more than any other sport, hockey needs an injection of diversity at its highest levels. This all starts with a change in mentality and acceptance at the grassroots level, to ensure that visible minorities and people of color feel just as welcome in the sport as anyone else.
The HDA is a Great First Step
The Hockey Diversity Alliance is making incredible changes at the professional level, and will be a powerful tool to fight racism on the ice, period. Younger players will feel empowered and racial prejudices will cease to be tolerated from anyone involved in the game. Hockey is evolving, and we always have to keep in mind the popularity of the sport around the world, not just in traditionally white countries. The Beijing Winter Olympic Games are playing without NHL participation this year and every country is still from North America or Europe, except for China, which received automatic entry as the host nation.
There are youth leagues and non-professional hockey leagues in more countries than you might think. But even still, a majority of players who make it to the NHL come from the same few countries. The HDA is a great first step in making hockey an accessible game no matter where you are from, and in the long run, the game will benefit from this. We all love hockey because it is a beautiful sport, but let’s all do our part to make this beautiful sport inclusive and hate-free.
