Around the NHL

Hockey Is Not for Everyone – Akim Aliu, The Players’ Tribune

The purpose of this story is not to drag everyone in hockey, or the sport itself, into the mud. This is about the biggest problems facing the game I love — and how we can fix them.

I’m talking about the racism, misogyny, bullying and homophobia that permeates the culture of hockey. These issues have ramifications that most cannot — or will not — see. They are not fun to talk about. And it seems like most only want to discuss them when something drastic happens, like K’Andre Miller’s horrific experience in an online Q and A a few months ago. Someone hijacked the Zoom call and called him the n-word over and over again through the chat feature.

I’m going to invite everybody reading to take the opportunity to really listen to this story. If it helps, write out any comment you want to make on it and email it to yourself. Then revisit it some time later and really ask yourself what you’re trying to contribute to the discussion. If you find you don’t really want to post that reaction after all or if you want to post a different one, then you’re the only person in the world who has to know that.