NHL, NHLPA Lace Up for Black History Month

The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association will celebrate Black History Month with original content and programming to be feature daily across the league’s and association’s social platforms and on NHL Network. The Black History Month fare is part of the year-round NHL and NHLPA Hockey Is for Everyone initiative, which celebrates diversity and inclusion in hockey by highlighting the voices and experience of Asian, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ individuals involved with the game, as well as girls and women. Stories from individuals and organizations within the hockey community who represent and champion Black achievement in the game—including Blake Bolden, Grant Fuhr, Jarome Iginla, Angela James, Sarah Nurse and Hockey Is for Everyone youth organizations—will be shared via platforms including NHL.com, Soul on Ice: The Podcast and the @NHL Twitter account, using the #NHLBlackHistory hashtag. Soul on Ice is hosted by award-winning filmmaker Kwame Damon Mason, along with Niagara IceDogs defenseman Elijah Roberts and Los Angeles Kings prospect Akil Thomas, and it blends elements of culture and hockey. Mason will join NHL Network’s NHL Now each week in February to discuss the latest stories from the podcast. The creators of Willie, the critically acclaimed documentary about Hockey Hall of Famer Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first Black player, teamed up with educational leader and global social emotional learning provider Classroom Champions—thanks to donations from NHL partners Canadian Tire and Dunkin’—developed and released a comprehensive digital experience and educator’s guide focused on social justice and combatting racism, and Safari Montage will help distribute it to more than 15,000 schools and youth sports organizations across Canada and the U.S. Willie is currently being syndicated across 90 million households and approximately 160 local broadcast stations in partnership with Gray Television in the U.S., and the film will air nationally on TSN in Canada. The film will also be distributed internationally to more than 50 countries over the next two years in partnership with the U.S. State Department’s American Film Showcase and Global Affairs Canada. The league said last month that all of its clubs would display a helmet decal starting Jan. 16—marking the start of the weekend leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the 63rd anniversary of O’Ree’s NHL debut—through the end of Black History Month. Finally, the Boston Bruins will officially retire O’Ree’s No. 22 jersey prior to the team’s game against the New Jersey Devils Feb. 18. NHL senior executive vice president, social impact, growth initiatives and legislative affairs Kim Davis said in a statement, “Black players—male and female—have shaped hockey from the beginning and have an increasingly significant impact on the game, the way it is played, the communities it reaches and the relationships with our fanbase. For the NHL, Black History Month is not only a time to recognize the magnitude of historic Black contributions, such as the formation of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes in 1895 and Willie’s trailblazing debut in 1958, but also a time to amplify efforts that foster a greater sense of inclusion for the Black community throughout the sport—be it on the ice, in the stands or in the boardroom.” NHLPA special assistant to the executive director Mathieu Schneider added, “The players seek to continuously further an inclusive environment at all levels of hockey while we proudly highlight during Black History Month the impact that our current and former Black NHL players have had on the sport. Following the example set by Willie O'Ree, we encourage young players and fans as we work toward a goal that we all share, which is a welcoming and diverse game.”

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

NHL, NHLPA Lace Up for Black History Month

Original content and programming will be featured on the league’s social channels, website and NHL Network

David Cohen

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David Cohen