Why black players remain out in the cold on the ice
Ice hockey faces a tough challenge to rid itself of its image as a white sport,
After he retired in 1988, Val James refused to watch a hockey game for 10 years
It is not just in politics that a message of hope can be quickly replaced by one of hate.
Last week, Jordan Greenway became the first black athlete to represent the United States ice hockey team at the Olympics, scoring a goal in the 3-2 defeat by Slovenia. Greenway, 21, who plays for Boston University, was in Pyeongchang only because the National Hockey League refused to release its players for the Winter Olympics for the first time since 1994.
There is no sign of a repeat of the “Miracle on Ice”, with the US losing two of their three matches so far, but Greenway nevertheless hopes he can act as a symbol. “I’m the first African-american to play hockey for the United States at the Olympics, but hopefully I’m the first of many,” Greenway said. “Hopefully kids go out, try something different, play hockey, and I see a lot more playing in the near future.”
Three days later, in a National Hockey League game between the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks, Capitals’ Devante Smith-pelly was serving a penalty when four fans started chanting “basketball, basketball” at him. The implication was clear, given that Smith-pelly is one of 30 black athletes out of about 650 in the NHL while around threequarters of National Basketball Association players are black.
“It’s disgusting. It’s sad that in 2018 we’re still talking about the same thing,” Smith-pelly said. “It’s sad that athletes like myself 30, 40 years ago were standing in the same spot saying the same thing. You’d think there’d be some sort of change or progression but we’re still working toward it, I guess, and we’re going to keep working toward it.”
In NHL’S near-100-year history, there have been about 80 black players and most of those were Canadian. There have been just 15 Africanamericans and Val James, who recently released his autobiography Black Ice, was the first in 1982.
James was an enforcer and quickly became known as one of the toughest players on ice, which meant he was properly tough. The fists he could deal with; the racism he dealt with had a far greater impact.
“The only way I can explain how I felt is, imagine the worst word you can call a woman,” James said in an interview with Newsday. “Now imagine having that word thrown at you every 30 seconds for 60 minutes. Now multiply that by 40 road games a year for 10 years. I think it eventually does some psychological damage.”
After he retired in 1988, James refused to watch a hockey game for another 10 years. Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball’s colour line in 1947, experienced a similar level of vitriol, yet his example paved the way for dozens of African-americans to follow. There has been no corresponding surge since James.
The most obvious impediment is one of accessibility. Basketball only really requires a ball, a hard surface and a hoop. Ice hockey needs equipment, organisation and ice, which can be an expensive commodity in American cities. This means ice hockey is perceived as a white sport, which discourages black children from tuning in or picking up skates for the first time.
Would Greenway becoming a role model change that? Certainly it would help, but then the demographics of tennis or golf have not shifted since the ascendancy of Serena Williams and Tiger Woods. Ultimately, it comes down to how much ice hockey is willing to change itself by lowering some of the entry barriers and challenging attitudes. Unfortunately, as the example of Smith-pelly shows, there may be some way to go.