Restore credibility to the Department of Player Safety It’s time for the NHL to grow a backbone and be willing to disappoint people that haven’t yet realized that visiting the home of a president that has made misogynistic statements and voiced support for the white supremacists that marched in Charlottesville is tacit support for those views. Trust is an essential foundation to building an inclusive community, and it’s undermined when the NHL seemingly uses public outreach to benefit a player over the public interest.įinally, the fiasco that was the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the White House was the swan song for the “politics doesn’t have a place in hockey” crowd (a crowd which includes many players). While the NHL cleared Shaw of the allegation, it demonstrates why Shaw was a poor choice for the job to begin with. His intentions appeared sincere but the amount of mistrust he inspired was made clear by the many doubters that were quick to suspect Shaw had used the slur again earlier this season. When the You Can Play ambassador initiative was getting off the ground, Shaw volunteered for the role. Shaw formally apologized for the incident and attended sensitivity training. Among the team captains and star players named was Montreal Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw, whose designation raised eyebrows since he was suspended for using an anti-gay slur in 2016. To that end, every team named a You Can Play ambassador in February 2017.
#HALF LIFE OPPOSING FORCE NGHL PROFESSIONAL#
The objective was to make the NHL “ the most inclusive professional sports league in the world”. In April 2013, the You Can Play Project formally announced a partnership with the NHL. The league has also fumbled its efforts to make hockey a better place for people that identify as LGBTQ+. Unfortunately, the NHL has not struggled solely with issues involving race and ethnicity. The self-serving hypocrisy of the NHL during these simultaneous scandals was painfully evident to anyone paying attention. In the latter, a massive corporation helmed by a man that claims he doesn’t “weigh into politics” promoted the election of a candidate in support of public stadium funding running against an incumbent that had come out against it. In the former case, a black player quietly emulated the example of Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Except, it also happened when the Calgary Flames decided to wade into the mayoral race in a transparent effort to secure public funding for a new stadium. Brown raised a fist in protest during the national anthem. Nowhere was this made more clear than in Tampa Bay when J.T.
The reality is that while hockey, like all sports, can provide a break from the depressing or aggravating aspects of daily life, professional sports do not exist in a vacuum. Stop denying it and start getting better at dealing with it.Ģ017 was the year that politics officially entered the world of hockey. So, with the calendar flipping to a new year, I sat down and identified three big changes that the NHL needs to make happen in 2018. All in all, there’s been no shortage of compelling narratives.Īnd yet, there’s always room for improvement. The Lightning remembered they’re a good team, the Oilers remembered they’re not a good team, and the Avalanche remembered that they aren’t nearly as bad of a team as they looked last season. Bettman is flirting with bringing a team to Seattle after shooting them down in 2016. The Vegas Golden Knights ignored everything an expansion team is expected to be by winning and doing so in high-flying style. It’s only been a half-season of hockey, but already there’s enough storylines to fill an entire year.
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