Discrimination In Hockey

Discrimination-and-fairness paradigm that was adopted in the late 1960s and 1970s is based on accommodating the legal responsibilities of diversity through federal mandates. The underlying philosophy is described by Thomas and Ely as, “Prejudice has kept members of certain demographic groups out of organizations” (Canas and Sondak, p. 15). Making generalizations about race is a bad idea, however African American’s seem to fall into that group more times than they are not. As a group, it is thought by many demographic backgrounds that the only way they can rise out of the ashes is through professional sports. When comparing professional sports, hockey is generally the last on the list of sports dominated by this group, let alone followed the

The vice-president of hockey relations stated in one article that “a player in the National Hockey League must be held accountable for making a comment that, in the context in which it was made, and in light of the entirely of the circumstances, was offensive and unacceptable” (Shoalts, 2012). This comment was made after a one-game suspension of Krys Barch for making an “inappropriate” remark to a black player on the opposing team. Within the NHL, steps are being taken to reduce racism in professional hockey. The league starting introducing diversity sensitivity classes as diversity was integrated into the league. The new twist on this is minorities fighting each other, which is the opposite of what the league had in mind. They should recognize that they are among the few minorities that have made it out of a situation where society feels they have no way to get out, particularly making it in a sport that is not considered to be an aspiration in the minority

I am not a true follower of any sport, but I do know that I have never seen an African American coach, assistant coach, or captain in the NHL. This I did not do an extensive amount of research on, but I do believe that would bring about the greatest change in the league. Though we will never be able to fully control anyone’s actions, if change begins with minds being molded in showing that equality is throughout the league, it will begin to shape people’s minds as to how African Americans are integrated into the game. Once that begins, we will start seeing African American’s in executive roles. I also believe that the leagues upper management needs to implement a new mission statement that includes all racial backgrounds as it would be demonstrated in diversity management. Canas and Sondak describe diversity management as the aligning of skills and personal experiences of the individual members of the organization with its mission and strategy. This model does have a open-minded way of understanding diversity, to which I feel would have a great impact on diversity in the NHL. In addition to making an impact on diversity in the league, as it is mentioned in Diversity in the Workplace, it will create a competitive advantage that will open up the door to many other African Americans that are not sure about joining the