IT’S TIME TO TAKE A STAND

To make real progress toward racial equality in hockey, leagues need to hand out significant punishments and educate o enders

Jackie Robinson byrobkecothmeincgoltohrebfairsrtieBrlainckbmasaenbatlol N APRIL 15, 1947, all the pdliasyguisntinthgeramciaajloirncleidaegnutess.anTdhrdoeuagth tchorueratgsehaendhardestioliefnace.,Hhe’sshoowweeddaadelobt of gratitude for hisObnravJearny.. 18, 1958, Willie O’Ree made history by bect omplianyg itnhethfeirNstHBLl.aHcke plavyedr the way for many other Black pthlaeyleerasg, uinec.lIunditnhgemdyayseslfs,itnocehatvheeasecatwreoerrienmarkable pioneers broke barriers, the fight eangaoiungsht :rtahciinsmgs ignetspsloigrthstlhyabsenttoetrpervoegrryeyseseadr, ebvuetntosthaaspfpasetnaesdtohveeyrsshioxudledc. aAdfteesr agllo, .these

So where are we now? It’s beyond belief itfhtahtewre’saroensetiplllfaicgehtyionug rwaociuslmd tinhi2n0k2r2a.cAisnmd shouldn’t be a problem, it would be in the swinocrled noof swpaodratsy.sEsrposetceiarsllyawreithcotemapmrispeodrtosf, eaathrlyetmesofnrtohms odfiftfherisenyteabra, cakcgorouupnledos.f Irnactihset iotnhnceliydinehcnuidtrsteinwntgesrtwehebhrgeoaaumrgdehatwbteooullotigv, bhe.ut,Ttahnoedswetmhwiasenriyes nkiedvse,rhroewachmathney paudbulitcs saprheesrue?ffeHroinwg minansiylenWceittho palal yththeedsipffoerrtetnhteycalomvpea?igns we’ve witnessed, like Black Lives Matter and many aonthderepsrpoetcets,tosnfeighcatinngwfoonrdjeurs:tiwceh,aetqpulalniteyt rdaociathl oslsuersincodmiviedfuraolms ?who are still using gamThee, aNnHdLitisiswfiogrhktiing htoarmd atkoegirtoswplathce

Oamong all the major sports. Hockey is known as a “white man’s sport,” and this is an image aHnodwaevceurl,tuervertyhetilmeaeguaeriascitaryl iingcitdoecnhtahnagpe-. sppeonrst,init huorctksetyh,eagnadmteh.isYohuowldislltgreutepianreanntys wkihdos ohuatvoef hoadckeyn.oYuoguhwainlldgewt kilildpsuwllhothaerier nlooveloanngdersuhbasveinqguefnutnlypqlauyiitn. Agnthdesisnpcoer,tevtheery byeyeaacark,rgterhoemukonirddess,watnhhdiosmaisroearcehreofraolsmpinrgombtuolelptmil-ac.yuFhlatocuicrnkag-l tehffiosrtrseatolitcyo, nmnaencyt wteitahmtsheaireconmowmumnaitkyintog cdreematoinsgtvratreiouthsaitnihtioactikveys tios aftotraectveprlayyoenres, gthame heo. pes of gettfrinogmthmeimnoirniteyrgersoteudpsinwtihteh

It is now time to step up and have real consequences on those in the game who are sntoillounsginergbreacpiaulnsisluhresd. Twhitehseaascimtiopnles slhaopuolnd nthoet uwprgisrta.dMedantyhediriffpeorleincitelseraegguaersdisntigllrhacaivael

Hntoswimevpeors, eadfteornsteheinpglatyheersraetcefanutlpt,uwneissluhrmse. can hope that every league will now step up. ogefftHesnesruees,’spealungsdoeaodndfoporblalhcigeaalfttoiaosnsteatarost:oeanntfeorrffaensfidpreesrticnifsitcateeddu.cSaetciondproofgfernasme:ibnaonrndeedrftoorbliefer.eI-f you want to stop racism in sports, let’s imcpomsemmisesaiosnuerer,statokedaosstoan. Idf. yIfoyuo’rue’rae aletaegaume iyosownunroetlre,tathagekuecehaoasrtataecnatdemr. S.yhCoohuwanwygaoenuwtr rfilaelnposrnetlhsyeacntotimhniges arubloeust, fiof,ratlhl teobgentheefirt, wofeopuurtgianmpela. ce stricter maAnl’tshgoaumghe,”hwocitkheystisll tcoonsmidaenryedraacis“twihnictiedknenotws,ntbhye mtruaneyo. rYioguincoanf hleoacrkneyabroemutatihneshuinsdknenotws,ntbhye tory of the game by reading the book

Black 1895-1925, written Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey by two white historians George and Darril League of the Maritimes,

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CHANGE WILL ONLY COME ABOUT IF, ALL TFOOGRETTHHEERB, EWNEEPFIUTTOINF OPLUARCEGSATMREICTER RULES,

YaobuoTutubtheetosuwbjaetccth. Aafntereirgehatd-minignutthee vbiodoeok or watching the video, you will see how the hloitstoofrpyeofptlheecagnamimeaigsinmeu. ch Blacker than a uthsaNatolclhobaneiner.eispboonrsnibrlaec. iTsot,gietthiserl,elaertn’sedb.reLaekt

Athe prelady.liHner, iKnisrtsitnecntsWaeslashfosrcmanesr sctlaoarsrreieNrtChbeAeAfgoardpeefatehnneddyescrtaonpteeltlhnetheerpruthctoke She stands at the bzluoenlein. eBauntdshalelowasitsheanpdlaywtaotcphaess. Welsh outstretches her arms, signalling to the other hofafviceiaglosttheanttthies pfalaryifisWoenlshidew.aTshdeepfelanydiwnogu. lWdhneont the goaltender eventually smothers the puck, Welsh gtarkaebsbiqnugicthkesptruicdkestotporienptaerevefonretihne anesxctuffafcle obfef.fore forWhelrshenhtairdebliefe.nNoonwt,hseheo’tshcearllsiindgetohfethshisoetsx.change a liIne2s0p2er1s,oWneilnshbobtehcaOmHeLtahnedfiArsHtLwhoimstaonryt.o serve as CoAnAly’stwRobseeratsMonosrrriesmUonvievderfsriotymCcoalpotaiWnienlgshthweaNs innia2ls0.1S5h-e1w6 asnadUaSCCoHllOeg.ceomHoaclkl-eryooAkmieetreicaamfisreslte-ctetiaomn CstHaAr indebfoetnhde’1r6o-1f7thaendye’1a7r.-1B8e.fIonre20h1e8r, NshCeAwAadsatyhse, LWeealgsuhewtoitnlebs acska-tmo-ebmacbkePr roofvtihneciWalhWitobmy Weno’slvHeso.ckey

Professional hockey seemed the likely next step fmoranaypwlaoymeernwlikthe her–rtehseumine.qBuuittyfionrhWoceklesyhf–oracned her in another direction. “I was really considering plearyiei ngceinasEuwreolpl,”eWbeclsahuseaiIdw. “aTnhtaetdwthase mcuyltguoral geoxing into college. But I didn’t want to pause my career. aAnsdwpolmayehno, cwkeyh,ayvoeutpoamusaekeyotuhratcadreeceisr.ion. If you go thiast,, buetcautstehaItwtiamnete,dI wtoasdne’vtewloipllinmgytoprcoofmesmsioitntaol career. It was a lot of commitment that I wasn’t willingAtnodmsaok, eWfeolrsthhsetamrteodunlot okf imngonfoeyr oI twhoeurlodpmpaokrteu.”nities. That was when Stephen Walkom, the NHL’s smeandioeravpihceo-nperecsaildletnotoannedofdhireerctcoracohfesoaffticRiaotbinergt, Mo“rHreis.cTohnatat ctaeldl chmayngaesdsihsetarnltifec.oach and said, ‘Is a“Itijnugstwthooumgihgth,tywoaunktntowtr,y‘Wrehffytinhge?r’e”anWyeolnsehgsraaidu. Inowt?a’sIaclorueladdygivine igtraeasht osthanpde,sjeuestwghreardeuiattiankgesfrmome. cf ourldygeiavresitoaf taryD, aivn.dI tshcahtotlhaerrsehimp,usatnbdeIsothmoeusgihmt i-I l2a0r1it9ie,sw. Shoic,hI weanststpoetchifeicNalHlyLfEoxrppolsauyreersCloomokbinge tino trreaffninsigtioenveirnatot tNhHe Lcarmefpe.rIetesw. aIst awgarsematyexfiprestrietinmce of where to stand, what to look for, the bare bones of itn.gI dteidstw. Iehllaidn gthoeodonf-iticnestesstteinstgi,negsprescuialtlsly, athnedstkhaetywanted to give me a chance.” fltoecraftiendishiningWheelsrhpnlaoywinlgivecsarineetrheatPiRttosbeurrtghMaoreraisa,

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In November 2021, Welsh beOctoaHmLoefafitnchdieaAtfeiHrsLat lfegevamemlasel.e alitnebsoptherstohne

It’s easy to see how the gravitoans Wofetlhshe, sgitivueantiohnowcouqludicbkelyloasfttceormhpelirshpeldayeivnegryctahrienegr. Ushneti’sl tahcistsreyaisnognt,oshbe’dthsepbeenstthpelrayeenrtipreoslisfieablpelaynedrs’sppeaekrsinpgecttoivoef.fiNcoiawls, sfrhoem’s meWnte.lSsheiswna’tsaolnoeneofinfotuhrewmomoveena–nadlonKgelwlyithCoroekfereaensdKaltinieesGpuearysvoanrioKuesnNdaHlLl Hpraen-lseeyas–otnopwrosrpkeact tournaments in 2019. The same gurpoutpheofofofiucirattirnagilbclraezwersamt atdhe 2E0li2te0WNoHmLeAnl’ls-S3t-aornG-3amevee. nt at the rCeofAoekrtetehasenJdaAcHGqLuaelyleinvweeleZrteheijsoHisnoeewadsaorbndy,, SEalimzaabnetthha MHainlltehr,a LaanudraAmWahnidtea, wTaesrseonjoii,nwehdiloenHtahneleliyneasnbdyWAelelsxh

A LONG WAY TO GO Six decades after O’Ree became the NHL’s first Black player, racism continues to rear its ugly head in pro hockey.

PIVOT Welsh once harbored dreams BionfuEpt ulnaroyowipnegs.hoev’es r breaking ground in the world of o ciating.