Hey guys! I just wanted to take a quick minute to introduce myself and my passion blog topic since I have new classmates this semester! My name is Megan and, as I presume you’ve already guessed based on my blog title, I am a huge hockey fan. I have been a diehard Philadelphia Flyers fan my whole life, even when the going got tough, like right now (13 game losing streak, I’m looking at you!).
While I will occasionally recap Flyers games or moves within the team management, I also hope to continue reporting on the National Hockey League as a whole. Last semester this came in the form of news updates, player highlights, and even social justice issues within the game. While I was optimistic that there would be no need to cover more social issues again this semester, that is sadly not the case. This past week, the game of hockey was plagued by multiple accounts of racist acts.
The first incident occurred on Janurary 12th in an AHL game between the San Jose Barracuda and Tucson Roadrunners. It is currently unclear to the public what exactly took place due to a lack of video evidence, as the American Hockey League does not typically broadcast games. However, we learned through a statement by the AHL that Krystof Hrabik, a player of the Barracuda, made a racist gesture towards a Black Roadrunners’ player, Boko Imama. In the statement, they also revealed that Hrabik will be suspended for 30 games and may then apply for reinstatement if the NHL Player Inclusion Committee deems he has made acceptable progress in their racism and inclusion training seminars.
Exactly ten days later on January 22nd, another racist attack was geared towards a Black hockey player. Jordan Subban, younger brother of well-known New Jersey Devils’ defenseman P.K. Subban, was mocked and harassed during a scuffle between the two teams at center ice. Jacob Panetta allegedly made racist comments towards Subban and can be seen on tape making monkey gestures. Many fans who saw the video on Twitter and Jordan’s Tweet (https://twitter.com/jordansubban/status/1485092112316178435?s=20) about the incident were absolutely outraged and began highlighting how the league has failed to keep this type of behavior out of the game.
The East Coast Hockey League has since suspended Panetta indefinitely, and the NHL has released a statement, seen below. While it may seem promising at first, those who follow the NHL have seen this exact statement, or one very similar, many times this year. The NHL pledges to combat racism within the league, but incidents like this occur time and time again.
The question now is what the NHL needs to do to fix this problem within the league. I personally believe half-assed statements released once every few months is not enough. While the NHL says they are committed to antiracist practices, I do not think they are doing everything in their power to combat the problem. They need to take it much more seriously and address the problem at its roots. Many hockey players are known to be racist or homophobic, but this behavior is dismissed as just being a part of “hockey culture.” The NHL needs to recognize that this is not a valid excuse and must begin taking initiative to eradicate this type of behavior starting at the youth level. Whether this means funding projects and initiatives in youth hockey or beginning a partnership with the Hockey Diversity Alliance, which is an alliance formed of past and current NHL players of color, something must be done. There is no place in hockey for racism, or anywhere for that matter.