Hockey is Canada’s national winter sport. Even though Canada is one of the most diverse countries in the world, you wouldn’t know it from going to the local hockey rink, or an NHL game. I’ve been playing hockey for 5 years, and I’ve noticed less diversity on the ice and in the locker room than at a park, restaurant, or museum. Is my observation real? Is diversity in hockey even important? Yes and Yes. Good morning Judges, teachers, and students, today I will be talking about diversity in hockey.
In the NHL, only 5.7% of players are BIPOC – that means Black, Indigenous, People of Color. Compare that with 80% in the NBA, and 70% in football. Five points, seven percent. The problem in part comes from the fans – 77% of hockey fans are white – basketball, by the way, has 45% white fans, soccer, 34%. Maybe white fans mean white players. Another cause of the problem is access. Hockey can cost a lot of money. In a recent poll, most parents said they spent over $5000 on equipment, team fees, tournaments, and courses. Since BIPOC people are often disadvantaged, they may not have the money to spend on hockey.
Diversity is important because when we are around different people we can learn from them. People from different cultures have different stories, ways of eating, playing, and even laughing. On the other hand, when there is a lack of diversity, people grow ignorant and sometimes mean. It is also important because there are many races and cultures in Canada. But if this is not reflected in workplaces, universities, and sports, that means that there is probably unfairness. So improving diversity improves fairness and is a win-win because we can eat, play and laugh together and learn from each other.
In fact, lack of diversity can even be associated with racism. Calgary Flames coach, Bill Peters, was abusive to a lot of players and made racist comments to black players like Michael Jordan, who were afraid to speak out because coaches have a lot of power. There are lots of examples in the past decade of fans being racist to black players too. For example in 2018 a black player, Devante Smith-Pelly, was taunted by opposing fans shouting “basketball, basketball, basketball”.
But hopefully, we are reaching a tipping point. Young people like me are demanding change. There are new movements and organizations like the Hockey Diversity Alliance, whose purpose is to get rid of “racism and intolerance in hockey and to inspire a new and diverse generation of hockey players and fans”. They raise money to buy equipment for young Black and Indigenous players, provide diversity training for coaches, and scholarships for qualified players. I support their efforts and call on the NHL to try to get more diverse fans. In the end, we all win when diversity and fairness happen.