When Donald Sterling came out as a gigantic racist last week, we all sort of reevaluated where the National Hockey League was in terms of the progress of black players. Puck Daddy posted a column when an LA Times writer made a snide remark about how Sterling could buy a hockey team in order to avoid black people.
Puck Daddy briefly pointed out the growth of the league in terms of the amount of black players in and the interest of the African American community. I considered writing the "Racism in Hockey" post at that time but decided against it. It was almost too easy of an article to write. Anybody could call Donald Sterling a racist and then list all of the black hockey players, noting how far we've come as a league. Clearly, black players have come a long way in the NHL and it's come to the point that the typical "hockey is a white person's sport" joke is not only way off but also offensive and ignorant.
Philadelphia forward Wayne Simmonds, a former Los Angeles King, was asked about Sterling's recorded rant and basically said that Sterling should be forced to sell the team.
Simmonds had one other line that really hit home. It didn't seem like much, but once you do your research, you'll see just how smart Simmonds is and how much he appreciates his role in the league as one of the most notable African Americans.
The line was, "I'm kind of a fly in a bucket of milk here."A clever line which doesn't exactly say t0o much.
Until you google it.
Wayne Simmonds was referencing the autobiography of the 1940's African American hockey player Herb Carnegie, "A Fly in a Pail of Milk." Simmonds was saying that, sure, there still is racism in hockey (Simmonds once had a
banana thrown at him during a game) but they've come a long way and it's not nearly as bad as it once was. His reference to their history was meant to remind us that it's a new age today and we need to make sure we never go back to the way it once was.
Herb Carnegie played in the Quebec Provincial League in the '40s. It was clear that Carnegie had the skills to play in the NHL and made the New York Rangers minor league team but was never given the promotion to the big leagues. Conn Smythe, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the time, was famous for once stating that he was offering $10,000 to anyone who painted Carnegie white, just so he could sign him.
Willie O'Ree ended up breaking the colour barrier in the NHL in 1958, making his debut for the Boston Bruins even though he was 95% blind in his right eye.
So clearly black players have a rich history in the NHL and to just ignore that is not only ignorant but shows extreme disrespect to the difficult path they took to get to where they are today.
And then game 1 between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins happened. It was an exciting game, in which Montreal star defenceman PK Subban scored 2 goals, including the overtime winner. PK is a source of hate amongst the Boston faithful seeing as he's a highly talented and pesky defender who likes to throw big body checks. He's the player in red and blue that the Boston fans boo every time he touches the puck.
He's also black.
And when Subban scored the game winner in game 1
water bottles and other debris were thrown to the ice at Subban. Additionally, what followed on Twitter was very disappointing, to say the least.
Boston fans were using the social media platform to express racist thoughts and comments about the Montreal star. They tweeted how they wanted these players out of hockey and that hockey is meant for whites only, using explitives and the "N" word casually and sickeningly.
Boston natives might say that this is just the minority of fans doing this and that's the truth. I'm not saying that every Boston fan is racist. But the outcry from the Boston faithful was so strong, that team president Cam Neely had to issue a statement.
"The racist, classless views expressed by an ignorant group of individuals following Thursday's game via digital media are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization."
I have a big problem with this statement. Cam Neely didn't address the issue here. He was just covering the tracks and the reputation of the Bruins organization, rather than condemning those involved. He felt it was better to distance the team from these racists rather than taking a stand against the fans of his team.
And that's sort of dissatisfying because it's not the first time Neely let the Boston fans off the hook.
In the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Bruins were playing the Washington Capitals and in game 7, Washington forward Joel Ward scored the
game winner in overtime. Almost like last week, Bruin fans tweeted how there should be no blacks and "N words" in the NHL and it got so bad that Neely had to, again, release a statement.
"These classless, ignorant views are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization."
But he's wrong. They are associated with the Bruins organization. As long as they pay him money to walk into TD Garden with the Bruins crest on their jersey, they are as much a representation of the Bruins as he is. And it's Neely's fault that these people aren't being addressed.
Neely's statement this year essentially mirrors what he said a mere two years ago. Neely, in a time where he should have taken the responsibility to lash out at these terrible people, decided it'd be easier and cleaner to build a safe statement, protecting the team and their image.
Well it doesn't.
And this brings me to my point.
When the Donald Sterling thing came out in the NBA, there were a slew of NHL articles written about the progression of black players becoming accepted in the NHL. It wasn't as much of an important post as it was a pat on the back. These articles simply counted the black hockey players nowadays, said "That's more than we used to have" and congratulated themselves.
But that doesn't address the issue. Cam Neely making these textbook statements doesn't address the issue.
These Bruin fans represent the people who make that "only white players in hockey" joke. They represent that writer for the LA Times. And they're not going away.
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| PK and Malcolm Subban |
What we need to happen is for Cam Neely to actually grow a set and call these people out. Attack these players. Make a statement saying "if that's the way you're going to act, don't even bother coming to the games." Say that he doesn't want their money and they should discard their Boston sweaters. Actually take a stand.
But what would be best would be if Jarome Iginla or, say, Malcolm Subban (PK's younger brother) lashed out at their own fans. Jarome Iginla is one of the most respected players in the NHL and the second black captain in NHL history and currently plays in Boston. Malcolm Subban was drafted in the first round by the Boston organization and currently plays for Providence. If either of these players made statements, or even approached the team themselves, and demanded respect and attacked the wrongdoers, that would adjust the lens for the league. That would make guys like Cam Neely feel pressured to actually do something if this ever happens again rather than just copy and paste what he has been doing.
Instead of saying "we've come a long way, let's congratulate ourselves" let's try to finally rid the "white player only" stereotype that STILL EXISTS.
These Boston fans should be ashamed of themselves. They're the team that FINALLY broke the colour barrier in the '50s and yet they're no better than the racists who existed back then.
I've had pretty solid predictions so far so I'll those in at the end. My second round predictions sit here.
