Willie O’Ree and Boston’s race identity

Willie O’Ree and Boston’s race identity

Willie O’Ree and Boston’s race identity

The NHL of the modern era is more diverse than ever before in its history. Until the 1970s, over 90% of the NHL’s players were Canadian, and almost all of them were white. In today’s NHL, Canadians make up about half the player population, playing alongside those from the US and Europe in increasingly greater numbers. But while the NHL may feature more geographical diversity than many professional sports leagues, the same cannot be said for racial diversity. In the 2013-14 season, there were 44 non-white players on season-opening rosters, meaning the league is still right around 95% white—better than it was, but certainly not what most people would call truly diverse. While there are many factors contributing to this situation, the NHL’s lack of color has recently been the focus of more attention from both fans and the media, especially in cities like Boston, whose relationship with players of color has been complicated throughout their history.

Willie O’Ree was the first athlete of color to play significant ice time in the NHL (Larry Kwong, officially credited with breaking the color barrier in 1948, played only a single game with the New York Rangers). O’Ree made his NHL debut on January 18, 1958, when the Boston Bruins called him up from the minor league Quebec Aces. O’Ree played two games in the 1957-58 season and 43 games in the 1960-61 season, scoring 14 career points. His minor league career spanned 28 seasons, during which he notched over 400 goals. While the bulk of his stats were accrued in the minor leagues, he’s remembered more for his 45 games with the Bruins, and is often called ‘the Jackie Robinson of hockey.’ Most Bruins fans are deservedly proud of having been the first team to welcome a black player into the league.

Fast forward to April of 2012, when the Bruins faced the Washington Capitals in the Conference Quarterfinals. After a hard-fought series, Boston lost game 7 when Washington winger Joel Ward scored in overtime. The Bruins were shocked by the first-round exit, having won the Stanley Cup the previous season. The rest of the world was shocked by the response on Twitter, where Boston fans hurled racist slurs at the game-winning Ward, who is a black Canadian of Caribbean descent. While most of what was said does not bear repeating, more than one fan made the assertion that hockey is ‘a white sport’ (with the implication it should stay that way).

If this were a one-time thing, the hockey world may have simply called it poor losing and moved on—until a similar incident took place in May of 2014. This time, the Bruins were facing the Montreal Canadiens in the Conference Semifinals. Like in 2012, the series had come down to a game 7 overtime. All-Star Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban (also a black Canadian of Caribbean descent) scored the game winning goal. The majority of Boston’s fans hung their heads in dismayed déjà vu as the city’s racists again took to Twitter to insult Subban, not for the flashiness of his goal or the quality of his play, but for the color of his skin.

It should be noted that, after both of these instances, far more Bostonians took to social media to call out and refute these insults than initially took part in the name-calling. And the Bruins are also not the only team whose fans (and even players) have been guilty of racist chants, comments, and remarks. While these incidents are more common in American than Canadian markets, it’s a league-wide issue; no one city is at fault, and no team is completely innocent. The truth is, the face of the NHL is changing—and not everyone is happy about it.

By this point, at least Boston knows they have a problem. Bruins president Cam Neely released a statement to the media shortly after the Subban incident calling those responsible for the racist tweets both classless and ignorant. Obviously this does not erase the racism, though the public acknowledgment is a good first step. Moving forward from the embarrassing incidents of 2012 and 2014, the Bruins were given the chance to again lead the league toward a more inclusive future. Hockey is still mostly white, but it’s gaining more color with each passing season. Though the opponents of this change are vocal and offensive, this trend toward diversity and inclusion is better for the league in the long run.