Culture Shifts On and Off Ice

From the start of the Black History & Hockey panel presented by
Alaska Airlines
on Thursday, it's clear candor, laughter, music and an informed discussion about inclusion in hockey all fit like glove hands gripping a stick for a shot on goal.
The Athletic's Kraken beat writer and national NHL reporter, Ryan S. Clark, introduces the participants, then proceeds to raise the first question: "Everyone here is a hockey fan...and everyone here's also Black. How would you describe what it's like being a Black hockey fan? And how would you describe this sport's relationship with race?

"Growing up in Detroit, it was expected I would be a football player or basketball player," says Everett Fitzhugh, team broadcast for the Kraken. "When I tell folks, yeah, I actually play baseball and I'm a big hockey fan, I'm left out of the barbershop conversations pretty quickly."
Smiles appear all around from the rest of the panel: Kendall Tyson, vice president of strategy and business intelligence for the Kraken; Kwame Damon Mason, director of the documentary, "Soul on Ice: Past, Present and Future" and co-host of the must-listen "Soul on Ice" podcast; and Capt. Ron Limes, Seattle-based chief pilot for Alaska Airlines; and moderator Clark.
"When it comes to sport's relationship to race, I think one of the big pieces of it, Kwame's film ["Soul on Ice"] and some of the work folks are doing in the industry is starting to acknowledge the history in the game of hockey. It goes beyond the NHL and amateur leagues. We're talking about churches up in Canada being the first organized games of hockey ... that was Black folks. Getting that story out there is really starting to happen and that's what's exciting about the kind of change I'm seeing in the relationship between the sport and race."

The group talked about the COVID-19 pandemic, the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Black Lives Matter, resulting allyship and how it is an opportune moment for the sport of hockey.
"Now is a time of action," said Tyson. "It's about how do we get diverse smart minds to put forward tangible solutions. We can't just say it's pipeline issue or we tried to give out free ticket and they didn't show. ... If it's not hitting, find a new idea. Find a solution that moves the needle--and don't be afraid to measure it."
Mason followed up on Tyson's thoughts: "My film came out in 2015. I started working on it in 2011, 2012 ... I decided I was not waiting for someone else to do the story [about Blacks in hockey beginning this first-ever pro hockey league, The Colored Hockey League, that was founded by Black pastors in Nova Scotia in 1895]. I wanted to control the narrative. I grew up from hip hop era. We're all about, 'Don't talk about it, be about it.' There can be too much talk,talk ... at some popint we have stop and let's go forward."
Limes, who is a newer fan to hockey, was intently listened to by the filmmaker. "If you want to expose hockey to a different demographic, you want to make it hip and fun," said the Alaska Airlines Seattle-based pilot who served 26 years in the U.S. Air Force. "When I hear Kwame's voice, the tone, the intonation, the way you talk, I would be like, whoa, it would get my attention ... it can make the sport more inviting, more relatable. It's more of a culture shift than a demographic shift."
The entire conversation is worth a listen for all of us. The conversation ranges from "hockey songs" to the size of Toronto forward Wayne Simmonds' ankles to Bad Bunny to how Blacks might take some responsibility for how hockey is viewed, but it never diverges from a resonating conversation about inclusion and how hockey can indeed be for everyone.