11. The NHL’s push for diversity and to stop abuse by coaches

For decades, lack of diversity and abuse by coaches have been major problems in hockey. But the league is taking steps to make the sport and its fan base more diverse while aiming to halt abuse by coaches. The challenge is that the league’s players and fans always have been predominantly white, and abuse by coaches has long been accepted as part of the game. Calgary coach Bill Peters resigned in November after allegations that he used racial slurs. After Toronto parted ways with coach Mike Babcock, team president Brendan Shanahan said Babcock’s coaching techniques were not “appropriate or acceptable” when addressing allegations of mental abuse. Even legendary Canadian broadcaster Don Cherry lost his job after making a controversial statement about immigrants. The league has taken major steps to clean things up. It started a diversity program called “Hockey is for Everyone” in recent years. In 2019, Commissioner Gary Bettman started program that offers counseling, education and a whistleblower hotline for players who witness or experience racism or abuse.