The Black Lives Matter and police brutality protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing have captured the attention of a usually apolitical NHL.
White hockey players, typically reticent to speak publicly about issues of race, have opened up with a sincerity and fervor that is, frankly, a little surprising. The past week or so has been something of a political awakening for some of them and as the movement towards a more equitable society grows, players have shared thoughts on white privilege, systemic racism and even marched in protests.
For its part, the NHL has rushed to embrace their newly political players when, in the past, such topics were considered anathema. What the past two weeks have thrown into sharp relief is how quickly the league’s attitudes towards open dialogue about race and political protest have shifted to align with the feelings of their white players, when, in the past, the concerns of black players were so often disregarded and pushed to the side.
About three years ago, conversations about Kaepernick’s NFL protest made their way into NHL locker rooms, and black players were asked questions about police brutality, their experiences as black men, and if they would ever take a knee during the anthem.
The player response was wide ranging, with P.K. Subban saying he’d never take a knee, to J.T. Brown and Joel Ward saying they wouldn’t rule it out. Some white players, like Blake Wheeler, Jacob Trouba and Matt Hendricks, openly supported their black teammates, while others, like Auston Matthews and Joe Pavelski reaffirmed the misconception that taking a knee was disrespecting the troops.
Most notably, J.T. Brown, then of Tampa Bay, raised his fist during the anthem to protest racial injustice.
There was, for a brief moment, the chance to blow open the doors on how racism has affected the league. Instead of taking the lead and pushing the conversation forward, the NHL, reading the political climate, quickly retreated to its insistence that the sport remain apolitical.
In May of 2017, Bettman said “people root for sports teams, follow sports, because it’s a communal activity. It may be one of the places where there is great unity within a community that transcends political divide.”
About visiting the White House under Trump, Bettman insisted that it is about “respecting the institution.”
“Going to the White House or not, it’s about respecting the institution. It’s not about what your politics are and who’s in the White House,” said Bettman. “Respecting the national anthem, I think it’s great for our players to be involved in political and social causes. But I also think that’s not why people come to games to see them.
Bettman’s stance has always been that players should protest on their own time.
So, I would encourage and I do encourage our players to do it on their own time. When they’re showing up for work to participate in a game that people are focused on, care about, pay a lot of money to attend, then it should be all about the game. That block of time should be apolitical…
In October of that same year, Bettman again revisited the same line. Political protests are fine he said, just do it on your own time.
With the NHL season in a hiatus at the moment, players have been spared from being asked direct questions about the nature of their political protests. Whether or not the league will support in game protests remains to be seen, but, going by the outpouring of social media support, there’s no denying that the current activism is being applauded by the league and players’ teams.
In the past few days, the NHL Twitter feed especially has been like a woke machine, retweeting players statements on Black Lives Matter, giving some of the more affecting and emotional quotes sharp graphic treatments, and, in one embarrassing incident, promoting a hype video about Tyler Seguin marching in a protest.
It’s clear that the NHL, at least on social media, is down with players using their political voices and will even raise multi-colored fist emojis in solidarity.
✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻 https://t.co/dyVgQZhq15
— NHL (@NHL) June 8, 2020
This is a massive difference from 2017 when the issues remained the same, but the voices talking about them were very different.
When J.T. Brown protested police injustice he got death threats and the league offered no public support. When the Capitals’ Devante Smith-Pelly gave a crushing quote about the isolation of being the only black player on his team, it was mostly ignored.
The sad truth is that the indifference black players faced when talking about these issues is precisely why white allyship is necessary to affect systemic change. The NHL, through Bettman’s comments, proved it had no interest in actively supporting a handful of black players who spoke the truth about their experiences. They were given a sympathetic and condescending pat on the back, some thin verbal encouragement and then sent back out onto the ice to block shots and dole out big hits.
The NHL, like almost every other organization, has only been moved to wider public support of these issues because the public is finally holding them accountable. It remains to be seen if that accountability extends to players protesting during games.
In some of the better NHL player statements about George Floyd, white players acknowledged that they had buried their heads in the sand for too long and convinced themselves racism wasn’t their problem. These players candidly admitted they’d gotten in wrong in the past. It’s time for the NHL step up and do the same.
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