For as long as sports have existed there has always been all sorts of discrimination based on prejudice. I think the largest form of discrimination would be racism. A lot of sports have grown in this area and have taken great steps to help this issue, I think the league falling most short would be the National Hockey League (NHL). The NHL has also taken a lot of steps forward into resolving racism in the sport but the jobs still not done. A lot of the work done in the league was not by the commissioner Gary Bettman, but by the players themselves. The most remarkable one would be Evander Kane. Kane is one of the very few elite black hockey players in the league and used his voice and power to help raise awareness on racism not only in the league but the world itself. During the black lives matter movement after the death of George Floyd, Along with the help of former NHL player Akim Aliu, Kane formed the Hockey Diversity Alliance, an independent organization aimed at forming significant changes in the presence of minorities in professional hockey.
“We are hopeful that anyone who puts on skates or sits in the stands will do so without worrying about race, gender or socioeconomic background and will be able to express their culture, identity, values and personality without fear of retribution.”
Evander Kane was one of the first people to actively do something to help solve such a large cultural issue in the world of hockey. The formation of this alliance helped influence other minority hockey players to come forward with their past trauma and experiences of racism in their life as a hockey player. Most notable being Akim Aliu who shared his past experience in minor league hockey of defying attempts of racist hazing and getting punished for it.
Overall the acts of Evander Kane, Akim Aliu and many other NHL players, helped draw light to the racism in hockey and helped form a path to make the quote of the sport true “Hockey Is For Everyone.”