Once a year or so, I’ll post a piece on the issue of diversity (or lack thereof) in hockey.
What prodded this blog, and these throughts, however, was not what I saw in an NHL game, or scanning league rosters—but rather where diversity in hockey starts—in a local kids’ league.
I’m going to go out on a limb here with a couple of predictions, or beliefs, and what I think that means to the discourse surrounding hockey today—for coaches and players at all levels, fans, and the parents of young, developing players.
I believe that sooner rather than later—if there isn’t or hasn’t been already—there will be a player in the NHL who is technically ‘disabled’ per current societal definition.
Specifically, I believe a person with Asperger Syndrome—which is classified as an autism spectrum disorder—will play in the NHL. Maybe soon.
Asperger can affect a child’s coordination, specifically their lateral movement, but it can also bring about unique advantages for a hockey player, “gifted… level hand-eye coordination, being one example.
I also believe the same regarding a gay player. There may be one or more in a pro league—including possibly the NHL—today. And as with the NFL, NBA and major league baseball, there may have been some gay NHL players in the past.
Stereotypes die hard, and I think sometimes particularly so in hockey, where we see the typical player as a generally approachable, fun-loving kid from a small town in Canada, who likes to drink beer and chase girls.
But the truth is typically far more nuanced.
Still, hockey remains a culture where diversity struggles to take hold. Look down the bench of any NHL team. The white faces vastly outnumber the brown or black. That’s not an indictment per se. Just stating the obvious.
The more crass might argue, “who cares,… or worse still, “it should be that way.…
But if we really care about the game, if we call ourselves fans of the sport—and not just the color of the sweater or alternately that of the player who wears it—how can we tolerate anything that discourages diversity in the game?
Diversity for the sake of diversity is truly arbitrary and possibly a waste of time. But greater diversity for the sake of fairness—and ultimately to elevate the actual game and how it’s played is critical.
Because here’s the reality. The more kids who are attracted to play the game, who are given a fair opportunity to develop and grow their talent, the better the game will be played at every level, including the NHL.
And doesn’t that benefit all of us?
I am not here to argue whether being gay is a “lifestyle choice… or something that a kid is just “born with… or acquires in early childhood. I have an opinion, and I will respectfully allow you to have yours.
I can tell you that a disability like Asperger is definitely not a lifestyle choice.
And why am I writing this blog today?
I help coach a youth team where one of the boys has Asperger. It is my first experience with young hockey players (ages 9-11) in many years. One evening recently, while I was helping one of the boys get their skates on, and in the presence of the young man in question, another boy started saying negative things about “autism… in front of the whole team. Whether this other young man knew his teammate had a form of autism, I don’t know— the boy in question shows no outward “signs… of the condition. But the coaches, at least, knew of his condition.
Regardless, at the risk of “exposing… his disability to his entire team, the affected boy could not fight back. One of the coaches quickly interceded, the parents were later apprised.
This boy is in his first year in organized hockey. He started this season with obvious deficiencies in his skating. But was it due to his disability? Or just a lack of experience?
He has worked tirelessly in practice, listens to his coaches and has improved fairly dramatically, while still struggling with some things typical of a novice player at his age, like clean hockey stops, crossovers, skating backward at full speed, etc.
Meanwhile, he shows an uncanny knack for making and completing hard, long tape to tape passes. The paradox of Asperger kids—this kid may have a unique level of eye-hand coordination.
Islander goalie prospect Linus Söderstrom has Asperger. A top high school player in Michigan, a defenseman, also has it.
So the above is clearly an example where “locker room talk… is not only hurtful and discouraging to a young player. It is potentially hurtful to the sport.
More recently, the “talkative… other player in question has criticized other kids for not having the newest equipment. And even turned to criticizing gay adults in the locker room, referring to men as “benders,… etc.—pretty surprising language coming from a young kid regardless.
And it made me think, what if one of the 15 or so boys in the room has confused feelings in that regard? Statistically, the likelihood is actually high.
Hearing that, does he feel he can continue in hockey?
And what if the affected kid has talent? Aside from the wrong done to him and his family, does losing his contribution—and that of other kids struggling with identities and disabilities outside our stereotypical norms—hurt the progress of the sport?
Locker room talk can be just locker room talk. But it can also be hurtful— not just to specific players, but to the entire game.
I have written before about the lack of ethnic diversity in our game, and steps the league might take to overcome it, like putting significantly more muscle behind “Hockey Is For Everyone.…
In the US, hockey equipment, ice time, travel team games, etc., are nearly prohibitively expensive for a family with less than a six-figure income. Should those kids feel unwelcome in the dressing room because their shin guards are ten years old or they don’t have a $100 visor?
Of course not.
But I can name one American born star whose bi-racial heritage, childhood weight issues and family economic circumstances were very real hurdles he had to overcome in his rise to the top of the sport—over and over again—because of prejudices (mostly), negative stereotype reinforcement and limited financial resources.
So maybe it’s time also, we as fans, parents, coaches, etc., began to be aware that a lot of kids come to the rink carrying larger, often unseen burdens, beyond just their sticks and equipment bags.
And in spite of our ignorance and misconceptions, or the unfortunate language of some of our kids, they could end up being the kids who carry home more than participation trophies.
If we give them the chance. And expect coaches, parents and other kids to do the same.
All I have for now, thanks for hearing me out,
JJ
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