The National Hockey League (NHL) has been running with a motto of “Hockey is for Everyone.” Is it, though? At times, it really feels as though it isn’t, and that goes for the sport itself, as a whole. I say that as someone who loves hockey and the NHL. It’s absolutely my world. It’s where I want to land upon graduation. However, I refuse to sit idly by as I see more and more issues plaguing the sport, the NHL, and its fanbase.
At its core, hockey is a predominantly white sport. If you were to ask fans to name some players in the league, you’d get big names such as Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, and Nathan MacKinnon. According to NBC News 9 out of Denver, CO, “The National Hockey League currently has 54 active players who are Arab, Asian, Black, Latino, or Indigineous, which would make up about 7% of the league.” In all reality– I don’t believe a statistic like this is poor. The issue is that the culture surrounding hockey is full of racism.
Two big things happened in the league within the last four months; the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, and the Flyers signed Tony DeAngelo. The Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup doesn’t seem like a “big” thing, it really seems quite benign in theory. A team wins the cup every year. However, Nazem Kadri, who is now a center for the Calgary Flames, won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche, making him the first Lebanese and Muslim person to win the Cup.
Nazem Kadri faced an incredible amount of racist both during their Cup run, and after. During game three of round two of the playoffs, Kadri had an accidental collision with the goaltender of the St. Louis Blues, Jordan Binnington. Binnington was injured during this collision, and was unable to play during the rest of round two. Prior to game four, Kadri started to receive racist messages and threats via social media platforms, which led the St. Louis police to have an expanded presence at the game. After winning the Cup, he continued to receive these messages.
The racism doesn’t just come from the fans, however. It’s an internal issue, as well. Tony DeAngelo was a problem child during the 2021-22 season when he was playing for the New York Rangers. DeAngelo had been controversial amongst the fans for a bit at this point, as he used his social media platforms to promote his political views and would engage in arguments with NHL fans about his views and his production on the ice. These issues extended into the Rangers’ locker room.
Tony DeAngelo’s problematic behavior was first noted in juniors, with USA Today stating, “He was suspended in juniors and the NHL for abuse of officials and also was suspended twice in juniors for violating the Ontario Hockey League’s policy for keeping ‘homophobic, racist and sexist language out of the game.’” With these situations already on his record, why should we have kept him in the league? It’s not like he’s a star player who is a positive face for the league. It makes no sense. After an altercation with Alexandar Georgiev, the Rangers placed him on waivers, and was not picked up by another team for the rest of the 21-22 season.
In the offseason this year, the Philadelphia Flyers made the bold decision to pick him up, and fans, such as myself were rightfully angry. Why would we allow a player with a history of racism and homophobia to play in the City of Brotherly Love? Why are we giving a player yet another chance when he’s proven that he’s toxic to the league, the fans, and his own locker room? The NHL could do so much better by ensuring players like Tony DeAngelo are facing real, true consequences for their bigoted behavior instead of giving them multiple “second chances.”
