Racism in hockey is, unfortunately, nothing new. From youth leagues to professional hockey, we’ve witnessed ignorance mar a great sport.
Many are trying to eliminate racism from the game, including fans, players, executives and organizations like the Carnegie Initiative.
Now another group is adding their support to the mix.
The Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA), in partnership with Budweiser Canada, announced their new #TapeOutHate campaign. It features rolls of hockey tape with the words “racism has no place in hockey” written on the tape.
The Alliance, made up of current and former players of color, hopes the tape and an emotionally-charged video they’ve released helps support their mission of eliminating racism from the sport.
The video features players discussing racist incidents they’ve experienced while playing hockey.
From abusive language to bananas being thrown at them, the video shines the light on what players of color experience simply from being on the ice.
“The biggest thing we want to do is spark a conversation. It’s a rallying cry. We know we can’t do this on our own. We need our allies behind us, and that’s the white community supporting us,” said Akim Aliu, a former NHL player and a founding member of the HDA, to ESPN. “We want to share our experiences and come together as one, no matter race or gender. We want this game to reach its full potential.”
Budweiser Canada approached the HDA with the idea for the campaign. The HDA agreed only after Budweiser agreed it could be organic, authentic and honest. In other words, it could not be whitewashed.
In the video, the athletes discussed their experiences, complete with raw emotion and players breaking down after expressing long-bottled up emotions.
It was a true representation of the HDA’s origins.
“It was literally how our group was formed,” said Aliu. “A lot of people don’t know this: We just started a text chain and got on Zoom calls with about 30 players of color in the NHL and the AHL, sharing stories of our experiences. It got to a point where we decided talking amongst ourselves wasn’t enough, because we weren’t really helping anybody doing that. We need to form this alliance to show other kids that we made it through this and we’re here to help them.”
The HDA has tried to work with the NHL, but so far has been unsuccessful. This includes receiving NHL approval to use the official marks and logos for the #TapeOutHate initiative.
But the HDA is in its infancy, so as it strengthens its internal operations, the hope is that the two parties will eventually come together. Until then, the HDA will continue its mission to eradicate racism from the sport they play and love.
And that starts at the grassroots level with youth programs.
“We want to sincerely and genuinely try to make a change. This is for the youth. For the next generation,” said Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri. “These are future stars of the league, possibly. I think it’s important to make this a safe place for everybody.”
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According to the ESPN.com story, the #TapeOutHate tape can be purchased online starting today and at Canadian Tire stores starting on Jan. 22. If successful, it could become more readily available in the U.S.
