Turning on a hockey game and seeing mostly white players is an ongoing trend for hockey fanatics around the country. The NHL has been evidently dominated by white athletes since the league began in 1964, and this dominance has flowed into the present. A lack of opportunity for non-white children and the high economical demands of the sport have definitely played a role in this issue. That is why “Blacks on skates are still a rare sight: in the NHL’s nearly 100-year history, there have been just over 70 black players”(Whiting). The sport of hockey has been inherently deemed a “white” sport which seems to reinforce the stereotype of white dominance in the NHL, leading to the continual of this issue. But, this issue is not being completely ignored …show more content…
In many of the top sports played in the United States like basketball, football, and baseball, there is not much racial inequality. So why can you not turn on an NHL game and see many non-white players? There seems to be a trend in the barriers that are ultimately holding non-white athletes from pursuing the sport of Hockey. From a financial standpoint, youth hockey teams are asking a lot from the players and their families as “It costs a lot of money to play hockey. Equipment alone – skates, two sticks, pads and a helmet – could run over a thousand dollars, not to mention all the gas money that goes into getting a kid to practice, games and out-of-town tournaments”(Moore). The sports is most definitely not cheap and is actually ranked as the most expensive sport for kids to play. Now an expensive sport can be a barrier to pretty much anyone out there, but in the United States, “there’s a stark race-to-wealth differential”(Judd). Non-white people today, on average, are not as wealthy or receive as great of an income as white people which makes it harder to play such an expensive sport. One study from 2013 actually shows that black people in america received the lowest average annual income when compared to other races. But, money is not the only reason that is holding non-white athletes back from hockey. There is a belief that the continual lack of non-white NHL players, year in and year …show more content…
Generations of potential non-white hockey players might never get the chance to play because they do not meet the financial requirements or don’t have access to rinks. So, with the investment in our non-white hockey players and the partnerships with NHL teams, we can potentially expand the league to have more non-white athletes. This would ultimately increase revenue from potential non-white fans. Jersey sales, ticket sales, and other gear sales could possibly increase making the investment in our youth a smart one. Plus, bringing equality to a sport that lacks it, is satisfying and worth the risk. By financially investing our youth, we are opening doors for their future and allowing them to try something new that they could not really have access to
In Shema Khan’s essay, “I was a Teenage Hijabi Hockey Player”, Khan exposes us to her relationship with the game of hockey. She provides readers with relatable memories, as both a fan and a player, and punctuates her stories with the view from a Muslim woman’s perspective. Khan excitedly reminisces about some of her earliest encounters with the game, describing the electric nature of hockey in 1970’s Montreal. Her love of the game continued into her post-secondary schooling; she even spearheading the formation of a women’s house league at Harvard. Throughout her recollections, Khan expresses her thrill at successfully encouraging others to join her on the ice, no matter their skill level, so that they too could experience the joy of the
In the article Hispanic Team Changes Small Town Attitudes, by William L. Holmes, many things stood out to me. First of all, I think the race of the players can matter, especially in this era we’re in. Some races, such as Hispanics, tend to have a bad reputation, in the article it referred to the people in the stands calling them stupid, and mocking Spanish accents, just because they were Hispanic. I think the race can matter a lot, especially if you live in an area, that’s predominately another race. This can cause many problems in a community, if not addressed right away.
Over America’s history, baseball has become one of America’s favorite sports. During the development of the sport, only a few people were allowed to play. Since segregation was still occurring in the USA, only whites were allowed in the Major Leagues, where the best baseball players went to play on a team, in the beginning. Because of this, African Americans decided to build their own league known as the Negro National Leagues. People like Andrew “Rube” Foster, Leroy “Satchel” Paige, and James “Cool Papa”
Racism is a worldwide issue that not many people are aware of. In Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse, the protagonist Saul Indian Horse experiences love for hockey, but eventually undergoes racial issues. Initially hockey gives Saul a sense of freedom which motivates him to seek a career in hockey, however, due to the racism he faces while playing causes him to give up his love for the game. Saul’s love for freedom while playing hockey motivates him to seek a career in hockey in the future. First of all, hockey gave Saul freedom which is why he wanted to keep playing it.
The book’s evolving opinion about hockey might be interpreted as a tool for the public to read and perhaps comprehend the negative reality that occurs in and outside of the story. Cody’s outlooks on hockey develop from positive, to negative, and then, again, to positive. At first, Cody loves hockey; it makes him happy, dedicated, hardworking and is a positive outlet leading him to a bright future. When Cody begins playing for Coach Connors’ team, the abuse begins and his love for hockey is replaced with alcohol abuse, suicidal thoughts, and misery. His positive view of hockey come to be negative because of the effects of Connors’ abuse that he, in the words of Theo Fleury, young hockey player abused by Graham James, “did not have the emotional skills, the knowledge, or the ability to stop [it].”
The minority athlete then becomes the symbol of the American dream for people in the United States and in the athlete’s home country. For most Asian athletes, this narrative of success entrenches themselves as a racial model minority (Joo, 2012). Being labeled a model minority suggests that Asian athletes are obsessive conformers, highly intelligent, rigorously self-disciplined people, and excessively hard-workers. The model minority stereotype appears to be very positive because it categorizes those Asians/Asian Americans as law-abiding and self-sufficient citizens, who completely embrace core American values. Yet, this perceived positive sometimes provides negative resentment amongst other minority groups and the majority of culture due to the overall abundance of success which Asians have had in school and careers (Nixon, 2015).
Out of the seven black coaches five of them use to play the game. If we look at the NBA for the last three years there has been a decline of fifty percent in black coaches. It seems like there is a major race problem in the NBA. It’s even tougher on the black coaches seeing that there are no black general managers in the NBA. Over
the number of blacks is dropping, but the number of Asians and Latinos is increasing. Asians and Latinos are becoming more and more popular in today’s game (Hillstrom, 112). Blacks, on opening day rosters in 1974, were at a high of twenty seven percent; and in 2005, that numbered dropped to just nine percent, (Hillstrom, 113). Blacks are disappearing from the game
Players like Kyle Harrison, on Team STX and the Ohio Machine, are one of the very few player that are African in the MLL. Although it has not reached its peak popularity yet, lacrosse will become a very diverse sport and more popular when MLL players get paid more, and when gear becomes more affordable for teams. Although lacrosse is a growing and prospering sport it’s just to expensive for lower class people to be playing, they can’t afford the gear and they can’t just depend on people to donate. If it does grow more popular more people will want to play and they can’t just be giving gear out
According to DiversityInc, they concluded that “More than three-quarters of NBA players, 70 percent of WNBA players and 65 percent of NFL players are Black. Major League Baseball is the only other sport close to that measure of diversity: 60 percent of MLB players are white. (The study did not look at the National Hockey League, which is almost entirely white.)” This piece of data really show what African Americans can do and what they were getting hold on from participating. The most loved sport in America is Football and white people are being forced to root for their team with a bunch of African
Nike is one of the most iconic and influential companies in the world, and its advertisements can be found anywhere in the world and across every medium. In one of its most recent ad campaigns, this athletic juggernaut tackles the issue of equality, a struggle that has existed throughout the history of sports, just as it has existed throughout the history of this country. The Nike advertisement “Equality” is a black-and-white video featuring superstar athletes from various sports that incorporates several elements and techniques illustrating the use of logos, ethos, and pathos to create a powerful and moving message. In this ad, Nike demonstrates that there is no need for a so-called diverse world of sports because once people are playing a
People know that doctors and firefighters save lives, while athletes play a game to make money. Even teachers pay isn’t anywhere near to athletes; they educate the generation’s youth so they can make a difference in the future. So many jobs that are very important don’t get paid as much and that money can go towards better causes. But these are only some of the reasons that pro athletes get paid too much.
The most clear evidence of the inequality between women and men hockey players refers back to the resources provided to a ‘quality’ career and training, which is clearly portrayed by money. In the Women’s Hockey League, a mere budget of 1.8 million dollars is set. When compared to a man’s salary in the Hockey League, it is equivalent to a year salary for that player. This concludes that the budget that runs a female league is less to a man’s annual salary, and for the men it can got up to a couple of million dollars every year. Arguably, women have as much success as men, especially during the Olympics.
The white supremacy that flooded America in the 19th and early 20th century is no longer seen in the sporting world. This paper looked at sports through the lens of an individual athlete named Muhammad Ali (who definitively changed history for African-American people in the United States), as well as looked at sports as a whole throughout history. Through statistics and reports, proof has demonstrated that the sporting world has developed to give more of an opportunity for African-American athletes to compete than ever before. Athletics creates a platform that gives athletes an opportunity to be more than just an athlete. An opportunity to stand up for what they believe in and bring attention to some of the problems of the world.
In a study conducted by GPT Finn in 1991, it was suggested that racism in sports could be traced back to the early 19th century. During this time, racial prejudice was commonplace and institutionalized, leading to a strong culture of discrimination against certain ethnicities. This culture of discrimination had a profound effect on sports, with some sports becoming exclusive to certain races and ethnicities. In addition, racial prejudice was often used to justify the exclusion of certain groups from sports, leading to a significant degree of racial segregation in sports. In recent years, the situation has improved, with greater recognition of diversity across sports and a greater acceptance of athletes from all backgrounds.