There are very few person’s of color in hockey, hell I didn’t know there were any, but no matter where they might run, walk, or skate, racists follow them. The National Hockey League is surely one of last bastions of white domination when it comes to major sports. Whereas the NBA, NFL are 70+ % Black, and MLB is at least 50% Black (even though they don’t count the Blacks that speak spanish, ‘and that’s just about all of them’), there are what 30 Blacks of around 700 players in the entire leage? On top of that, I can’t think of any Black hockey fans of the top of my head… So this article hits even harder:
Violence On And Off The Ice: Twitter Racism And The NHL
As one imagine, the backstage has been place rife with racial epithets, jokes, stereotypes, and other white racial frames that don’t mesh with the post-racial narrative. The advent of the Internet, the hegemony of Facebook, and the power of Twitter have merely provided glimpses into those backstage conversations. The online world merely recapitulates the racism, sexism, homophobia, and violence of the “real world.”
Yes, its a bunch of punks on the internet talking about things that they would never have the guts to say in the average Black person’s face without a mob (or guns) to back them up, but still these are the thoughts of people who think they are safe.
Unfortunately this type of bashing and commentary will continue to exist as long as there is no means of accountability or responsibility for what is put our over the net….What others can do however is counteract the negative commentary with that which is positive (instead of going back and forth…), and spread awareness of this issue in other forms of media, like what is done here on BBS.
and as long as there are punks in the world who use racism for power. It makes them feel very powerful to be able to talk shit about a man they don’t know based upon and obvious physical characteristic. Surely these cowards have not nearly enough testicle to make those same statements to his or probably any other black person’s face.
Have you seen the Black Hockey Players Wall of Fame? There have been about 107 black men who have been drafted by or played in the NHL.
Thanks! We were unaware that anyone was keeping track, but we are very glad that you have brought this to our attention!