tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/nhl-12002/articlesNHL – The Conversation2024-01-31T17:25:34Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219692024-01-31T17:25:34Z2024-01-31T17:25:34ZSuffering in silence: Men’s and boys’ mental health are still overlooked in sport<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572001/original/file-20240129-29-fhg8bb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C26%2C5973%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are severe problems with the culture of masculinity in men’s sport — one that means men and boys must adapt rather than seek help.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/suffering-in-silence-mens-and-boys-mental-health-are-still-overlooked-in-sport" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>For men and boys, caring about sport typically conjures images of passionate competition and fighting for the win. This understanding of care leaves little room for self-care, health and safety, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2020.1716956">emotional vulnerability</a> — topics that are fraught with risks for boys and men in a sport culture of hypermasculinity. </p>
<p>The National Hockey League Players’ Association recently released its <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhlpa-unveils-first-line-program-designed-to-support-mental-health-of-nhl-players">First Line Program</a> to support player mental health. It signals that men’s hockey is finally acknowledging the long-known fact that “a hockey player struggling with mental health would have done so in silence.” </p>
<p>Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska recently told the <em>Calgary Herald</em> that talking openly about mental health is “<a href="https://calgaryherald.com/sports/hockey/nhl/calgary-flames/flames-hockey-mental-health">kind of becoming the norm now, that people aren’t afraid to voice it</a>.” Corey Hirsch, a retired goaltender recently told CBC News, “the game itself wasn’t the issue, the issue is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2298635843758">the stigma of having to be a tough man</a>.”</p>
<p>Similarly, in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aivpDPCP7Q8">recent interview on the <em>Diary of a CEO</em> podcast</a> France and Arsenal soccer legend, Thierry Henry, spoke of the depression he suffered throughout his career:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I’m a human being. I have feelings. Throughout my career and since I was born, I must have been in depression. Did I know it? No. did I do something about it? Obviously not, but I adapted.” </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Thierry Henry talks about his experience with mental health as an elite athlete on the ‘Diary of a CEO podcast.’</span></figcaption>
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<p>What we are seeing, then, is an overdue shift towards normalizing men and male athletes seeking help and gradually speaking more openly and vulnerably about mental health. </p>
<h2>A culture of silence</h2>
<p>There are severe problems with the culture of masculinity in men’s sport — one that means men and boys must adapt rather than seek help and tough it out rather than take a step back. This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/18902138.2023.2277087">culture of silence and bullying</a> means men and boys have been reluctant to speak up and speak out about safety and sexual assaults. It has created an environment where men and boys feel pressured to be silent about their own mental health.</p>
<p>On the same podcast, Henry said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“You’ve been told since you were young, whether at home or in your job, ‘Don’t be that guy, don’t show that you’re vulnerable.’ If they cry, what are they going to think.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a culture that sporting organizations are up against in their implementation of initiatives like the First Line Program.</p>
<p>We need to redefine what it means to care in men’s sport. And progress has been made. In addition to the NHLPA’s First Line Program, in September 2023 Hockey Canada hosted the <a href="https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/summit-agenda-unveiled-2023-news">Beyond the Boards Summit</a>. This was an attempt to address “toxic masculinity” while simultaneously struggling to understand it.</p>
<p>Then, in October 2023, Hockey Canada issued a <a href="https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Safety/Downloads/dressing-room-policy-faq-e.pdf">Dressing Room Policy</a> to “enhance inclusion and safety” and “minimize occurrences of maltreatment, bullying, and harassment.” </p>
<p>While this is a sign of progress, there remains some reluctance to name issues such as sexual assault and homophobia when they occur.</p>
<p>On World Mental Health Day 2023, Norwich City Football Club launched a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX8TgVR33KM">campaign, #youarenotalone</a> prompting us all to check in on those around us. </p>
<p>Initiatives such as these speak to a form of caring masculinity that is vital if men’s sport is to be the space of support and mental health that it can be.</p>
<h2>A complex relationship</h2>
<p>At times, novel ideas are borne in times of crisis; only now are we starting to make sense of the socio-cultural impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The complex relationship between sport and boys’ mental health became apparent when sport facilities closed for social distancing measures, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102211">negatively impacting their social, mental and emotional health</a>. </p>
<p>One boy from our study described his struggles during the pandemic: “I just kind of felt sad… not being able to go rock-climbing.” In a similar vein, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri spoke in October 2023 about how many of his players — including young academy players — were <a href="https://football-italia.net/allegri-juventus-working-on-players-depression-in-post-covid-era/">suffering with depression in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>But this disruption has also forced boys to engage with their emotions. One boy told us: “I became way more in touch with myself and my emotions.” The same sentiment is echoed by Henry, who said of the pandemic: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Something like that had to happen for me to understand vulnerability, empathy, and crying. Understand that anger and jealousy are normal… I was crying every day for no reason… it was weird, in a good way.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What does this tell us about sport and mental health? Primarily that sport in its traditional guise does not provide space for men’s and boys’ vulnerability and mental health. </p>
<h2>Cultivating care in men’s sport</h2>
<p>We can reimagine sport to be inclusive, diverse and safe, in order to tap into the positive potential of sports. But it requires redefining what it means to care. This does not mean discarding the importance of sporting competition, but rather recognizing and developing the potential for self-care and mutual support in men’s sport.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/18902138.2023.2277087">our research with male athletes</a>, we found that creating diverse sporting spaces facilitated open and vulnerable conversations, and promoted a culture of care and support that was important to these athletes. </p>
<p>These attempts at inclusion and diversity were not without their pains. The traditional culture of men’s sports sometimes reared its head making some men — particularly queer men — feel <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902211014037">excluded, marginalized and unsafe</a>. But the creation of spaces of emotional vulnerability and support nevertheless showed what is possible if the power of sport is harnessed and reimagined in novel ways.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221969/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Kehler receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel Knott-Fayle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We are witnessing an overdue shift towards normalizing male athletes seeking help and gradually speaking more openly and vulnerably about mental health.Michael Kehler, Werklund Research Professor, Masculinities Studies, University of CalgaryGabriel Knott-Fayle, Postdoctoral Scholar of Masculinities Studies in Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2168852023-11-05T13:01:52Z2023-11-05T13:01:52ZHockey’s wake-up call: Neck guards should be mandatory following Adam Johnson’s death<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/hockeys-wake-up-call-neck-guards-should-be-mandatory-following-adam-johnsons-death" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The death of professional ice hockey player Adam Johnson from a freak injury has renewed debates about protective hockey equipment.
On Oct. 28, the 29-year-old died after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/oct/29/nottingham-panthers-ice-hockey-player-adam-johnson-dies-after-freak-injury">being cut in the neck by a skate blade</a> during an English league hockey game.</p>
<p>In the days since Johnson’s death, hockey players and organizations have <a href="https://winnipeg.citynews.ca/2023/10/30/wickenheiser-calls-for-neck-protection/">called for neck guard mandates</a>. Neck guards are designed to prevent a cut to the neck, rather than spinal cord or throat injuries from a puck or stick. They are available as stand-alone protective gear or embedded into a turtleneck long sleeve.</p>
<p>Hayley Wickenheiser — four-time Olympic gold medallist, medical doctor and assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs — has called for mandating neck protection at “<a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/wickenheiser-calls-for-neck-protection-at-every-level-after-johnsons-death/">every level in hockey</a>.” </p>
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<p>The <a href="https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/whl-making-neck-guards-mandatory-for-players-1.6627422">Western Hockey League</a> and the <a href="https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/38788492/penguins-advocate-neck-protection-mandate-wake-adam-johnson-death">Pittsburgh Penguins ECHL and AHL teams</a> now require players to wear neck guards, and more leagues are expected to follow. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hayley-wickenheiser-neck-protection-1.7012813">The English Ice Hockey Association</a> will also require players to wear neck guards beginning in 2024. However, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/nov/03/coroner-offers-condolences-to-family-of-ice-hockey-player-adam-johnson">United Kingdom’s Elite Ice Hockey League</a> will not.</p>
<p>Currently, <a href="http://rulebook.hockeycanada.ca/english/part-i-technical-rules/section-3/rule-3-6/">Hockey Canada mandates</a> goaltenders and players registered in minor and female hockey programs wear <a href="https://www.bnq.qc.ca/en/certification/protection-and-safety/neck-protectors-c2.html">BNQ-certified throat protectors</a>. However, junior and senior athletes are exempt from this rule.</p>
<p>While the NHL hasn’t yet announced it will mandate neck protection, the history of protective hockey equipment suggests this could change in the future.</p>
<h2>Close calls not enough</h2>
<p>Johnson’s fatal injury is eerily reminiscent of injuries sustained by Florida Panthers winger <a href="https://www.espn.com/nhl/news/story?id=3240117">Richard Zedník in 2008</a> and Buffalo Sabres goaltender <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/366975-today-1989-the-clint-malarchuk-incident">Clint Malarchuk in 1989</a>.</p>
<p>In both cases, a player lost balance after a collision, accidentally swinging their foot upward into the injured player’s neck. Fortunately, Zedník and Malarchuk recovered from their life-threatening injuries, but despite the close calls, the NHL did not require players to wear neck guards.</p>
<p>In ice hockey, the adoption of protective gear has historically been reactive, with catastrophic injuries often serving as the catalyst for change.</p>
<p>“Safety evolutions have usually needed death or serious injury to occur first,” sports journalist Geoff Baker wrote in the <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/kraken/neck-protection-for-nhl-players-wont-happen-overnight-but-history-suggests-it-will-happen/"><em>Seattle Times</em></a>.</p>
<p>Gloves, shin guards, wrist guards and elbow and knee pads only became standard after players sustained serious injuries like broken bones, fractures and tears.</p>
<p>In the NHL, it wasn’t until 1979 — years after players sustained dental injuries or <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1988/01/24/20-years-since-nhl-fatality-few-bare-heads/2bc7f2a0-09b3-4c99-8fd0-23c3d2d18485/">deadly head and brain injuries</a> — that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/07/archives/nhl-rules-new-players-now-must-wear-helmets.html">players were mandated to wear helmets</a>. And it wasn’t until the 2013–14 season that they finally <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/the-last-players-not-to-wear-visors-in-the-nhl">required players to wear visors</a> to prevent eye injuries.</p>
<h2>Resistance to implementing safety precautions</h2>
<p>Why aren’t neck protectors mandatory at all levels of hockey? Some blame hockey culture itself, where <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/sports/death-of-a-player-from-a-skate-to-the-neck-reignites-hockey-s-stubborn-debate-over-protective-gear-1.6628855">change is slow</a> and <a href="https://thehockeywriters.com/nhl-player-safety-need-big-changes-cogliano/">safety standards are inconsistent</a>. </p>
<p>In the past, players have <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/all-access/helmet-holdouts-the-last-players-to-wear-helmets-in-the-nhl">resisted wearing protective gear</a> due to discomfort or signalling weakness. However, in the modern era, players, coaches and teams appear to be <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10058643/adam-johnson-death-neck-guards/">more attuned to safety issues</a>.</p>
<p>One reason neck protectors aren’t mandated could be because neck lacerations from skate blades occur infrequently and are often not severe. In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/JSM.0b013e3181c0aaa4">2009 study</a>, researchers surveyed over 25,000 USA Hockey players to understand more about cuts to the neck by skate blades. </p>
<p>The researchers found that 45 per cent of players (mostly 13 to 18 years of age) reported wearing a neck guard while playing hockey, and only two per cent sustained a cut to the neck area by a skate blade. Nearly a quarter of the players who had a laceration were wearing a neck guard at the time of injury.</p>
<p>In follow-up interviews with 33 of the 485 injured players, researchers found that most of the cuts to the neck were superficial, meaning they only required bandaging or a few stitches. </p>
<p>Given the high-speed, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-43785-5">high-contact nature</a> of ice hockey, it is surprising that freak accidents don’t occur more often. While a neck slash injury by a skate blade is uncommon, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2004.015735">outcome may be fatal</a>. A close call is still too close.</p>
<h2>A neck protection mandate is not enough</h2>
<p>While wearing a neck guard doesn’t guarantee an injury will not occur, it is still our best shot at preventing fatal accidents.</p>
<p>In addition to mandates, we need to ensure that neck guards are tested under realistic conditions that replicate the collisions that lead to injury on the rink. Although <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/how-protected-are-canadian-hockey-players-a-look-at-league-mandates-on-neck-guards-1.6624724">neck protector standards exist in Canada</a>, only one independent study has evaluated the effectiveness of neck guards in preventing cuts to the neck.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/JSM.0000000000000121">2015 study</a> evaluated 14 commercially available neck guards, using a custom-made machine which took a skate blade and cut neck guards under similar forces and speeds seen in game play. Materials such as Spectra Guard and Kevlar were found to be the most cut-resistant, but more research is needed.</p>
<p>In the wake of a tragic incident, we may find ourselves on the edge of an equipment evolution to improve player safety. Together — as players, hockey and standard organizations, industry partners and researchers — we can ensure that accidents don’t cost any more lives in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216885/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olivia Aguiar received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Simon Fraser University. </span></em></p>The death of hockey player Adam Johnson calls for improvements in player safety and protective gear design.Olivia Aguiar, PhD Candidate in Biomedical Physiology & Kinesiology, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2095672023-07-30T12:39:24Z2023-07-30T12:39:24ZNew professional league for women’s hockey a reminder of NHL’s uncertain beginnings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539857/original/file-20230727-19-i3u7pq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C30%2C6659%2C4436&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Those critical of the new league's potential should remember the NHL’s own uncertain beginnings.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/new-professional-league-for-womens-hockey-a-reminder-of-nhls-uncertain-beginnings" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Women’s sport is gaining much-deserved attention with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/fifa-womens-world-cup-gender-equity-in-sports-remains-an-issue-despite-the-major-strides-being-made-209778">FIFA Women’s World Cup</a> in full swing. In a less publicized development, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/womens-hockey-pro-league-poulin-1.6897041">news broke</a> in early July that a group of investors had purchased the seven-team Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). </p>
<p>Part of the deal was the expectation that the PHF <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10081237-professional-womens-hockey-players-association-buys-phf-to-create-single-league">would merge</a> with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) to launch a new league in 2024. </p>
<p>Women’s professional hockey in North America has been splintered for some time. Although not all players were pleased, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/womens-hockey-league-phf-perspective-1.6897442">it is generally hoped</a> this announcement will result in a unified, higher-profile, higher-paying and more sustainable structure for women’s hockey.</p>
<p>This development was overshadowed by the National Hockey League (NHL) draft, its free agency period and annual player movement exercises that soak up oxygen in the sport mediasphere. </p>
<p>What was overlooked were the ways in which the consolidation of women’s hockey is strikingly similar to the evolution of men’s professional hockey and the NHL over a century ago.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, at a time when hockey is <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-end-of-nikes-sponsorship-means-for-hockey-canada-210047">under increased scrutiny</a>, the NHL seems to remain the litmus test on which women’s hockey is measured. </p>
<p>Women’s hockey can be an easy target for those resistant to change and determined to buttress long-standing notions of hockey’s presumed significance to a white, male Canada.</p>
<p>While the sport is often used as a symbol of Canadian-ness, as <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/changing-on-the-fly">sociologist Courtney Szto</a> notes, “more often than not, there are only white male faces participating in the hockey game.”</p>
<h2>Coming to the defence?</h2>
<p>To counter this narrative, sport columnist Damien Cox published an <a href="https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/opinion/2023/07/04/womens-hockey-strikes-landmark-deal-for-a-pro-league-but-the-huge-news-barely-made-a-dent-in-sports-media-why.html">editorial</a> in the <em>Toronto Star</em>. </p>
<p>But some of his readers did not help. The comments section, populated almost entirely by users with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319864876">male names</a>,
questioned the skill levels of female players and the competitiveness of their teams, perpetuating the narrative of men’s sport being the baseline against which women’s sport is measured. </p>
<p>Cox’s readers bemoaned the media that was, in their view, pushing women’s hockey on readers. Those kinds of comments are unfortunately reflective of attitudes that view women’s hockey as secondary to the men’s game.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hockey-canada-must-stop-treating-womens-and-para-hockey-like-an-afterthought-192327">Hockey Canada must stop treating women's and para hockey like an afterthought</a>
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<h2>Similar paths</h2>
<p>Cox argued that the NHL grew out of pro leagues like the International Professional Hockey League (IPHL) and the National Hockey Association (NHA). The IPHL <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43606915">existed from 1904-07</a> with teams primarily in Michigan and southwestern Ontario.</p>
<p>The IPHL was an indirect precursor to the NHL, having as little to do with the origins of the NHL in 1917 as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2015.1121867">1990 inaugural women’s world hockey championship</a> has to do with the new women’s hockey league. Both institutions, however, contributed to the legitimization in the public’s eyes of what was to come later.</p>
<p>The NHL did <a href="https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/453/joining-the-clubs/">emerge out of the NHA</a>. Yet it was national in name only, with <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9780802085207/lords-of-the-rinks/">an inaugural four-team roster</a> of clubs based in Montréal, Ottawa and Toronto – only three of whom completed the first season. </p>
<p>When the NHL came to dominate men’s professional hockey it did so at a particular time in the history of commercial sport and entertainment. </p>
<p>A significant development was the <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487522315/the-struggle-for-canadian-sport/">infusion of American capital</a>, both financial and cultural, that came from adding expansion teams in New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh. With the announcement of this new league, women’s hockey may now benefit from its own infusion of U.S. capital.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539855/original/file-20230727-17-52t28p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two women hockey players pose for a photo with their gold medals" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539855/original/file-20230727-17-52t28p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539855/original/file-20230727-17-52t28p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539855/original/file-20230727-17-52t28p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539855/original/file-20230727-17-52t28p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539855/original/file-20230727-17-52t28p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539855/original/file-20230727-17-52t28p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539855/original/file-20230727-17-52t28p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Team Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin and Rebecca Johnston celebrate after winning the gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Feb. 17, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
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<h2>Sports media</h2>
<p>The media was also central to the NHL’s success. The press and radio contributed to the NHL’s consolidation of men’s hockey in the 1920s by legitimizing it as the most elite form of the game. </p>
<p>Media members were embedded within team structures: <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/foster-hewitt">Foster Hewitt</a>, the broadcaster and famed voice of <em>Hockey Night in Canada</em>, was a <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487547080/a-night-at-the-gardens/">vice president at Maple Leaf Gardens</a>. His father was an amateur hockey administrator, while also serving as a sports editor for the <em>Toronto Star</em>. </p>
<p>Women’s sport, including hockey, was popularized and legitimized in the same era by the coverage of such journalists as <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fanny-rosenfeld">Bobbie Rosenfeld</a>, <a href="http://www.sportshall.ca/hall-of-famers/hall-of-famers-search.html?proID=592&lang=EN">Alexandrine Gibb</a> and <a href="https://www.myseumoftoronto.com/programming/microhistories-myrtle-cook-mcgowan/">Myrtle Cook McGowan</a>.</p>
<p>Today there are numerous women commentators on hockey telecasts, including Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Cheryl Pounder. Their insights contribute to the celebration of the men’s game, even as the women’s game continues to fight for equity. </p>
<p>However, Canada’s national sport continues to face difficulties, whether it is played by men or women. News of the new league comes as hockey finds itself embroiled in multiple challenges to its credibility — from <a href="https://theconversation.com/hockey-trouble-can-the-sport-overcome-its-history-of-neglect-and-abuse-187062">sexual abuse covered up by Hockey Canada</a>, to calls for <a href="https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/safesport/chapter/athletes-first-the-promotion-of-safe-sport-in-canada/">safer sport guidelines</a>, to the game’s increasing <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/865650153">financial inaccessibility</a> and its <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/changing-on-the-fly">still-pervasive whiteness</a>. </p>
<p>There have been <a href="https://theathletic.com/3168575/2022/03/09/why-now-is-the-time-for-a-professional-womens-hockey-league-with-nhl-support/">calls</a> for the NHL to contribute to the development of professional women’s hockey (<a href="https://www.wnba.com/history">similar to the NBA’s involvement in the WNBA</a>).</p>
<p>As women’s hockey strives to create a unified, commercially successful professional league, it is worth remembering the NHL’s own uncertain beginnings. When it was created, the NHL was one of many leagues in Canada vying for the Stanley Cup. But within a decade that had changed. The development of a new women’s hockey league in 2024 offers the potential for similar change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209567/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russell Field does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The development of a new league in 2024 offers the potential for a more unified, higher-profile, higher-paying and more sustainable structure for women’s hockey.Russell Field, Associate Professor, Sport and Physical Activity, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2057992023-05-17T15:55:12Z2023-05-17T15:55:12ZThe Ottawa Senators bidding war is about a lot more than ticket sales and star power<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526643/original/file-20230516-34490-s2bn16.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C75%2C1048%2C509&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Snoop Dogg shouted out Canada's First Nations in his ongoing social media campaign to promote his bid to buy the NHL's Ottawa Senators. Snoop posted a video to Instagram in a recording studio and wearing an Ottawa Senators jersey. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout: Instagram @snoopdogg</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/celebrity-bidding-war-for-ottawa-senators-could-be-a-boon-for-the-franchise-experts-1.1918374">bidding war has erupted over the NHL’s Ottawa Senators</a>, and fans are as starstruck by the names involved as they are sticker-shocked by the price. </p>
<p>Four groups submitted final bids on May 15 and <a href="https://www.sportico.com/business/team-sales/2023/ottawa-senators-sale-1234722937/">at least one reached US$1 billion</a>. Two remaining groups boast major stars. </p>
<p>Hip hop icon Snoop Dogg is part of Hollywood producer Neko Sparks’s bid. Toronto superstar The Weeknd was folded in by Harlo Capital’s Jeffrey and Michael Kimel. Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds was in the mix until he and his partners, real estate moguls the Remington Group, pulled out at the last minute.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1655652636224282640"}"></div></p>
<p>Most observers are mildly surprised that a small-market Canadian hockey club has captured <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65566069">global headlines</a> but absolutely astonished that it could fetch a billion dollars.</p>
<p>We shouldn’t be surprised. Pro sports franchises are some of the hottest commodities on the market, with <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/report-joseph-tsai-buy-nets-23-billion">billionaires from tech</a> <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35605269/nba-board-governors-approves-sale-suns-mercury-mat-ishbia">and finance</a> pouncing on almost every premier franchise that’s become available. </p>
<p>These are high-profile, scarce assets with escalating valuations that offer entry into a hyper-exclusive club. They also carry deep emotional and historical ties to local communities and fan bases distributed around the globe.</p>
<h2>Benefits of ownership</h2>
<p>But status, scarcity and emotion aren’t the only reasons sports ownership is suddenly so appealing. Over the last 25 years, franchises have transformed from live entertainment holdings serving local populations to global, financialized assets. </p>
<p>They provide avenues for forms of investment and financial engineering not traditionally the purview of pro sports. They are leveraged for real estate and land development and provide <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2019/02/21/countries-are-seeking-help-to-deal-with-corporate-tax-avoidance">“creative” tax scenarios</a>. They garner good will with local citizens and governments to the benefit of the owners’ other business interests. They provide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2010.510599">robust transmedia</a> brands and intellectual property that can be monetized elsewhere.</p>
<p>These speculative forms of valuing franchises have been historically overlooked, but they are at the centre of the Senators sale. The purchaser will acquire the team, its current arena and 70 acres of land in Kanata on which the Canadian Tire Centre rests. </p>
<p>They will also acquire the opportunity to negotiate exclusive development rights at LeBreton Flats, 7.5 acres of prime real estate on the edge of Ottawa’s downtown. The Sens were selected last year by the National Capital Commission as its <a href="https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/projects/lebreton-major-attractions">preferred development bid</a> for this parcel of Crown land, which has tantalized developers for two decades.</p>
<p>Hence the many real estate magnates figuring prominently in the Senators sale. <a href="https://ottawasun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/ottawa-senators/ryan-reynolds-and-remington-group-prepping-billion-dollar-bid-for-senators">Reports suggest</a> Reynolds and Remington, when still involved, planned to build a downtown arena district while redeveloping the Kanata land. </p>
<p>Most other bids appear keen to follow a similar path. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large tract of undeveloped land with the skyline of a city in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526649/original/file-20230516-29403-sabyzj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526649/original/file-20230516-29403-sabyzj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526649/original/file-20230516-29403-sabyzj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526649/original/file-20230516-29403-sabyzj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526649/original/file-20230516-29403-sabyzj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526649/original/file-20230516-29403-sabyzj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526649/original/file-20230516-29403-sabyzj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this photo taken using a drone, LeBreton Flats is seen west of downtown Ottawa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Potential rewards are massive</h2>
<p>These projects are inherently speculative. Despite no binding agreements with the city or the National Capital Commission, the bet is they will lead to revenue, land and franchise value increases that will justify a billion-dollar investment.</p>
<p>Such projections are based on examples like Edmonton’s <a href="https://icedistrict.com/">ICE District</a>, which has rewarded Oilers owner <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/daryl-katz/?sh=16d2767e2ed4">Daryl Katz</a> handsomely for his 2008 purchase of the team. Katz is co-developer of the district, where blocks of restaurants, bars, condos and transit infrastructure were built around Rogers Place arena. </p>
<p>It typifies a new norm of stadium development that sees developers and policymakers mobilize public speculation to garner support. They assert that these projects will catalyze further development and economic activity in areas that are deemed in need of “regeneration” — although whether they actually do is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/critics-calgary-arena-deal-1.6823842">endlessly debated</a>.</p>
<p>These lucrative development plays contribute to rising franchise values, but real estate is only part of the story. A second and relatively novel form of speculation is increasingly important: leveraging sports teams as “IP,” the buzzword now used to describe intellectual property.</p>
<p>After purchasing the Welsh football club Wrexham AFC in 2021, Reynolds and his partner Rob McElhenney produced a docu-series, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/why-americans-find-welcome-to-wrexham-so-compelling-20230113-WST-415264.html"><em>Welcome to Wrexham</em>,</a> that has been a streaming smash. Reynolds integrated the club with his other business interests through ad campaigns and other brand “synergies” to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/03/15/ryan-reynolds-mint-mobile-acquired-by-t-mobile-for-13-billion/?sh=1b9bc9b56860">lucrative results</a>. </p>
<p>The actors have used their star power to push the Wrexham AFC into areas not usually available to lower-tier soccer clubs, such as EA Sports’ FIFA video game franchise and a high-profile partnership with TikTok. Given their success, it was not surprising to see Reynolds trying to break into a major North American sports league.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two men with crossed arms are side by side as they watch a soccer game from the stands." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526847/original/file-20230517-22717-3y1un3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526847/original/file-20230517-22717-3y1un3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526847/original/file-20230517-22717-3y1un3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526847/original/file-20230517-22717-3y1un3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526847/original/file-20230517-22717-3y1un3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526847/original/file-20230517-22717-3y1un3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526847/original/file-20230517-22717-3y1un3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rob McElhenney, left, and Ryan Reynolds are seen in the stands from a scene in the docuseries ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ that follows them as they takeover the lower-league Welsh soccer team Wrexham AFC.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Patrick McElhenney/FX via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Betting on future outcomes</h2>
<p>Sports and business pundits have been slow to consider these speculative modes of valuing franchises, but financial markets and fans have not. It’s no coincidence that the influx of investors from finance and tech has overlapped with the rise of sports gambling. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/betting/article258413928.html">Betting apps like FanDuel and DraftKings</a> break sporting events down into ever smaller units — derivatives — that fan-users can bet on at every moment of an event.</p>
<p>Wagering on outcomes in this way is inherently speculative, mirroring activities that structure most financial markets in 2023. Arbitrage and futures trading, derivative markets and speculative real estate plays are about leveraging and monetizing uncertainty. They are less about reacting to past events than gaming scenarios and betting on probabilities. They seek to project and engineer future outcomes.</p>
<p>We should therefore understand the Senators sale not just in terms of recent transformations in sports business, but as symptomatic of these broader trends in which every aspect of culture and economy <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/cj.2020.0041">bends toward financialization</a> and speculation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205799/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liam Cole Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Ottawa Senators’ bidding war has important lessons about speculation and financialization in pro sports.Liam Cole Young, Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2052742023-05-15T20:33:55Z2023-05-15T20:33:55ZWhat a viral meme about Evander Kane can tell us about white supremacy in hockey<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525976/original/file-20230512-19-k2quc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C6%2C4318%2C2876&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane is congratulated after scoring his third goal against the Seattle Kraken during the third period of an NHL hockey game on March 18, 2023, in Seattle. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/John Froschauer)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>An image of a white woman flipping Edmonton Oilers player Evander Kane the bird from behind the protective glass of a hockey rink went viral on May 7. It sparked the creation of a meme dubbed “<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/EdmontonOilers/comments/13aw01i/kane_vs_karen/">Kane vs. Karen</a>” by a social media user on Reddit.</p>
<p>“<a href="https://time.com/5857023/karen-meme-history-meaning/">Karen</a>” has become a popular term used to identify white women who weaponize their whiteness to either shift attention away from their racist behaviour or insight racial violence.</p>
<p>While the incident that resulted in the meme may not have been racially motivated, it is still about race and white supremacy. </p>
<p>The meme challenges viewers to consider the role of white women’s fandom in upholding and normalizing white supremacy in hockey culture.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1655053121494851588"}"></div></p>
<h2>Defining white supremacy</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.yorku.ca/edu/unleading/systems-of-oppression/white-supremacy/">Scholars have defined</a> white supremacy as the “institutionalization of Whiteness and White privilege.” Institutionalization occurs when rules, standards or practices are nomalized to the extent that it has become so common we do not question it. </p>
<p>White privilege describes the unearned advantages white people receive based on the colour of their skin. Whiteness acts as an <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-origins-of-privilege">invisible backpack of privilege</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.berea.edu/centers/the-bell-hooks-center/about-bell">American scholar, writer and educator bell hooks</a> described how white supremacy legitimizes and advances <a href="https://www.mediaed.org/transcripts/Bell-Hooks-Transcript.pdf">patriarchy, settler-colonial capitalism and racism</a> — factors that are woven deeply into the culture of men’s ice hockey. </p>
<p>White supremacy is invisibilized and normalized in hockey culture. When white supremacy is challenged, hockey culture pushes back. For example, a coach from Surrey, B.C., <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-b-c-hockey-parents-question-why-coach-was-suspended-after-standing-up-to-alleged-racism-1.6830865">was suspended after pulling his U-11 players off the ice</a> to protect them from anti-Black racism.</p>
<h2>White supremacy culture</h2>
<p>As white settler Canadian women, we recognize that “the burdens of dismantling white supremacy and decolonizing the sport of hockey are more justly shouldered by white settler Canadians and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/ces.2021.0017">the hockey establishment</a>.”</p>
<p>Men’s ice hockey upholds white supremacy through erasure, exclusion and mandated conformity. </p>
<p>The erasure of the history of the Colored Hockey League, as highlighted by sport researchers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0065">Alex Mackenzie and Janelle Joesph</a>, is an example of how white supremacy erases those who aren’t considered white. </p>
<p>The important contributions made by the league, including the butterfly technique, slap-shot and entertainment during intermissions, were omitted as a result.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9wmxbr3IvtM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A video about the origins of the Colored Hockey League.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>White supremacy is also achieved through exclusion. Ice hockey has historically been — and continues to be — a white space.</p>
<p>Even though <a href="https://environicsanalytics.com/en-ca/resources/blogs/ea-blog/2022/10/26/census-2021-canadas-cultural-diversity-continues-to-increase">one in four Canadians identifies as racialized</a>, and the <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/RHI125221">United States is also racially diverse</a>, the sport remains a bastion of whiteness.</p>
<p>A total of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nhl-sports-hockey-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-1fc28e1d7db391c2bec6203fa19fda1f">83.6 per cent of the NHL’s workforce is white</a> and over 90 per cent of players and nearly all coaches and officials are white.</p>
<p>Despite the NHL’s “<a href="https://www.nhl.com/community/hockey-is-for-everyone">hockey is for everyone</a>” branding, whiteness remains privileged. Racialized hockey players are expected to conform to the sport’s culture and values.</p>
<h2>Whiteness and surveillance</h2>
<p>It’s important to understand the Kane vs. Karen meme <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120981047">within the broader historical and cultural context</a> of white women patrolling, policing and surveilling Black bodies based on white supremacist notions of law and order. </p>
<p>Racialized hockey players are often held to a higher moral standard than their white counterparts. Former NHL player P.K. Subban, for example, is currently under fire for a <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9673726/p-k-subban-lizzo-weight-lunch-joke-toronto-maple-leafs/">fat-shaming comment</a> about pop singer Lizzo. But <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/disappointment-anger-hope-p-k-subban-discusses-anti-black-racism-hockey/">the racism Subban endured as a Black athlete in a white sport</a> has not received the same attention. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A Black man in a suit speaks to off-screen reporters in front of a bunch of hands holding microphones" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525983/original/file-20230512-32388-50hj2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525983/original/file-20230512-32388-50hj2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525983/original/file-20230512-32388-50hj2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525983/original/file-20230512-32388-50hj2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525983/original/file-20230512-32388-50hj2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525983/original/file-20230512-32388-50hj2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525983/original/file-20230512-32388-50hj2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">P.K. Subban has discussed the systemic nature of anti-Black racism in hockey in interviews before.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>White supremacy ensures we are constantly surveilling Black players and holding them to higher moral standards than white players. This stands in sharp contrast to how racialized players are expected to behave when faced with racism.</p>
<p>Comments against racialized players are <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/mark-fraser-racism-george-floyd-hockey-nhl">silenced</a>, downplayed or <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/hockey-is-not-for-everyone-akim-aliu-nhl">ignored</a>. Racialized players are expected to defend the sport and themselves, like Vegas Golden Knights player <a href="https://youtu.be/2UI1OMIU33w">Zach Whitecloud</a>, who had to defend his Dakota heritage against an ESPN commentator who said his last name was better suited for toilet paper.</p>
<p>Racialized players are also expected to take the high road when confronted with violence, as Kane did when he blew a kiss to the fan who flipped him off.</p>
<h2>Hockey fan culture</h2>
<p>Fans also play a key role in upholding white supremacy in hockey — particularly white women because ice hockey has a predominantly <a href="https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/study-uncovers-the-fact-that-the-nhl-has-the-whitest-most-republican-fans-of-all-major-sports-leagues">white fan base</a> in North America. </p>
<p>The exclusionary practices that keep men’s ice hockey elite, heterosexual and white are reflected in its fandom. If professional athletes are not free to be Black or Indigenous in ice hockey, we can expect the same for fans. </p>
<p>Legal scholar <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/ces.2021.0018">Martine Dennie</a> has written about what it means to be a hockey fan in Calgary. To belong, all a fan needs to do is wear a Flames jersey. But even this approach to fandom doesn’t stop racial hierarchies from forming. It still “preserves the whiteness of hockey fandom.”</p>
<h2>Combating white supremacy</h2>
<p>As white women, researchers and fans, we are calling on other white women to be aware of how we engage with racialized players and fans. Combating white supremacy involves exposing the way it operates as an undercurrent.</p>
<p>True interrogations of white supremacy don’t focus on individual acts of overt racism — instead, they reveal how normalized and systemic it is.</p>
<p>Organizations like <a href="https://blackgirlhockeyclub.org/">the Black Girl Hockey Club</a> are working to make hockey more inclusive for players and fans of all backgrounds. They are doing this by challenging the perception of hockey being a predominantly white sport.</p>
<p>The Kane vs. Karen meme challenges white women to consider our role in perpetuating white supremacy. Addressing and deconstructing the whiteness of ice hockey is long overdue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Teresa Anne Fowler received funding from Brandon University and the Concordia University of Edmonton for their research in men's ice hockey, and she is a member of Scholars Against Abuse in Canadian Sport.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shannon D. M. Moore received funding from the University of Manitoba and Brandon University for their interview-based study with elite level male hockey players about hockey culture. She is also a member of Scholars Against Abuse in Sport.</span></em></p>The viral Kane vs. Karen meme invites the viewer to see the parallels between the actions of a white female hockey fan, surrounded by white onlookers, towards a Black player surrounded by referees.Teresa Anne Fowler, Assistant Professor, Education, Concordia University of EdmontonShannon D. M. Moore, Assistant professor of social studies education, Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Education, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2051702023-05-10T16:31:19Z2023-05-10T16:31:19ZPlastic rats and playoff beards: Superstitious behaviours in hockey fans and players increase during the playoffs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525391/original/file-20230510-19-ghb0bb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C3000%2C1953&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Toronto Maple Leafs fans and players celebrate a goal during the second round playoff series against the Florida Panthers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Michael Laughlin/AP Photo)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/plastic-rats-and-playoff-beards--superstitious-behaviours-in-hockey-fans-and-players-increase-during-the-playoffs" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As the Toronto Maple Leafs recently limped to a third straight defeat to the Florida Panthers, Leafs fans experienced the dreaded <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2022/05/09/Closing-Shot/Closing-Shot.aspx">rat trick</a>. In this ritual, Panthers fans throw plastic rats onto the ice to summon the energy of past, unexpected successes.</p>
<p>A group of extraterrestrials watching this event might be puzzled to see hundreds of otherwise normal people hurling mass-produced rodents at a few dozen tired men with unkempt facial hair. If, as sport fans, we set our past experiences to the side, these superstitions that are so pervasive in sport — especially when the games carry the most weight — really make very little objective sense.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jnPZX0U9-XI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">TSN looks at the history of the ‘rat trick,’ when Florida Panthers fans throw plastic rats onto the ice after games.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As an ardent sport fan for most of my life — and someone who may or may not have participated in fan rituals — I’m in no position to judge. And although I am not a particularly superstitious person overall, I’ve engaged in my fair share of sport-related irrationality as both a participant and a spectator. </p>
<p>For much of my early life, I saw sport superstition as part of fandom. I have now been studying <a href="https://www.uwindsor.ca/kinesiology/755/dr-terry-eddy">sport fans for about 15 years</a>, and if I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: rationality and objectivity generally do not apply in sports fandom.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/leafs-and-oilers-in-the-nhl-playoffs-can-i-cheer-on-a-team-i-usually-hate-204893">Leafs and Oilers in the NHL playoffs: Can I cheer on a team I usually hate?</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>The superstitious athlete</h2>
<p>Although all sports have their share of superstitious participants, hockey players have certainly earned their <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/the-nhls-10-weirdest-rituals-and-superstitions">reputation for being at the high end of the range</a>. </p>
<p>As I alluded to earlier, <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/32804681/playoff-beards-hockey-wackiest-tradition">playoff beards become ubiquitous among players at this time of year</a>. This seemingly age-old tradition only dates back to the early 1980s, but has become ingrained in hockey culture among amateurs and professionals alike. </p>
<p>Baseball players are certainly not to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324834basp2701_7">be outdone as a superstitious group</a> — for example, it’s taboo to talk about a no-hitter. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097815/">In the 1989 movie <em>Major League</em></a>, the Cuban baseball player Pedro Cerrano (played by Dennis Haysbert) used supernatural means to magic his bat. As contrived as the character might have appeared to the average person, most baseball fans would believe that such a player could (and probably does) exist.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr8NJkggkln","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>For some athletes, superstitions aren’t just meaningless, irrational behaviours; <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12301">they can have positive effects on mental state and performance</a>. Superstitions can boost confidence and sense of control, as well as reduce anxiety — really, it’s the routine that prepares the body and mind for the performance, rather than the specific behaviour itself. </p>
<p>Superstitions may not be as readily prescribed by sport psychologists as meditation or visualization, but for some athletes, they can serve a similar purpose.</p>
<h2>Fan superstitions</h2>
<p>Like athletes, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2017.12.001">fans also tend to exhibit numerous superstitious behaviours</a> both at the game and in other locations, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.740645">either before or during the game</a>. These superstitions can be group-based — like the rat trick — or personal. </p>
<p>Some of the most common personal behaviours include wearing certain articles of clothing (special underwear and socks are particularly popular), sitting in a particular place and eating or drinking specific foods. </p>
<p>But if we can understand why athletes succumb to superstition based on actual benefits, how can we justify these behaviours among fans? They have no direct involvement in the game. Well, the benefits for fans are not actually that different from those for athletes.</p>
<h2>Handling uncertainty</h2>
<p>In general, humans <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2017.12.001">don’t handle uncertainty very well</a>. We crave order in our lives, and fundamentally need to explain the underlying causes of important events or outcomes. </p>
<p>In the absence of concrete answers, we start to make up explanations of our own — <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/1622327285?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true">these are known as attributions</a>. We especially tend to attribute sporting success to factors that are under our control, like player and coach performance or fan involvement. And we attribute failure to things beyond our control, such as the other team’s performance, referees’ actions or fate.</p>
<p>Superstitions help us feel like we have some control over the uncontrollable. There have only been a handful of academic studies on fan superstition, but the findings tend to be consistent. By engaging in superstitions, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/specials/superfan-the-nav-bhatia-story-1.6235377">fans feel as if they’re doing their part to help the team</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525392/original/file-20230510-15-a0x73r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a man in the stands holds a sign reading I'M A CANIAC FROM N.J." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525392/original/file-20230510-15-a0x73r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525392/original/file-20230510-15-a0x73r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525392/original/file-20230510-15-a0x73r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525392/original/file-20230510-15-a0x73r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525392/original/file-20230510-15-a0x73r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525392/original/file-20230510-15-a0x73r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525392/original/file-20230510-15-a0x73r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Carolina Hurricanes fan holds a sign following the Hurricanes’ win over the New Jersey Devils in Game 2 of the second-round playoff series.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When the team wins, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2017.12.001">being involved generates an even more positive mood</a>, likely due to the perceived satisfaction of helping the team. On the other hand, carrying out the appropriate superstitions can have positive effects on mood even after a loss, possibly because the fan feels as though they did everything they could to help the team. Superstitions can also reduce the stress associated with watching a game among avid fans. </p>
<p>It’s worth pointing out that “fair-weather fans,” who only support the team when it’s doing well, generally aren’t doing this stuff — <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-16583-002">the team has to be very important to us</a> in order for us to be compelled to engage in superstitions. </p>
<p>Academic research refers to these passionate supporters as “highly identified fans,” because the fan role is a central and important part of that person’s identity and self-concept. As such, their sport fandom is closely tied to their self-esteem, which is why watching sports is such a heavily invested, emotional experience for these highly identified fans (myself included). </p>
<p>Spectator sport is one of the most unpredictable things in the world, so we have a desire to combat this uncertainty and control what’s happening by any means possible, rational or otherwise.</p>
<h2>During playoff time, be kind</h2>
<p>Sport superstitions make very little sense to non-sport fans, because they haven’t experienced the intensity of emotions and mental gymnastics that come with being a highly identified fan. </p>
<p>It’s more than a pastime, it’s a big part of who we are and how we see ourselves. </p>
<p>And to anyone who couldn’t care less about the playoffs, please just indulge the sport fans in your life and let them do whatever it is that makes them feel better at this time of year. That includes you, Mrs. Eddy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Eddy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Superstitions have a role in helping hockey fans and players feel more in control of the game.Terry Eddy, Associate Professor, Sport Management, University of WindsorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2048932023-05-07T12:38:11Z2023-05-07T12:38:11ZLeafs and Oilers in the NHL playoffs: Can I cheer on a team I usually hate?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524689/original/file-20230505-18104-x0gen4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C0%2C4168%2C2785&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares celebrates his game-winning goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs on April 29 in Tampa, Fla. It's the Leafs first playoff series win since 2004.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/leafs-and-oilers-in-the-nhl-playoffs--can-i-cheer-on-a-team-i-usually-hate" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>It’s been 30 years since a Canadian NHL team has won the Stanley Cup. The last team to bring home the trophy was the Montréal Canadiens in 1993, but <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/stanley-cup-canada-chart-1.6820519">the long drought</a> might finally be over with two Canadian teams in the second round of the NHL playoffs: the <a href="https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/oilers-advance-to-second-round-after-5-4-win-over-kings-1.6377329">Edmonton Oilers</a> and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9662216/toronto-maple-leafs-advance-in-nhl-playoffs/">Toronto Maple Leafs</a>. </p>
<p>Canadian hockey fans are left with the familiar, yet fascinating, decision regarding whether or not to temporarily suspend their regular season allegiances and support one of these two franchises, strictly on the basis of their national residency.</p>
<p>It’s a familiar debate among many Canadian hockey fans: if one’s team is no longer in contention for the Stanley Cup, does their allegiance switch to any remaining Canadian team — even one they usually hate? A <a href="https://www.playcanada.com/news/will-canada-win-stanley-cup-ever-again/">sizeable sector of Canadians yearn</a> for a Stanley Cup parade in a country with postal, and not zip, codes. </p>
<h2>Hockey allegiance</h2>
<p>The sentiment to support a Canadian team, or more accurately <em>any</em> Canadian team, doesn’t appear to be a recent creation.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A hockey player in a red and white jersey with the Montréal Canadiens logo in the centre lifts a large, tiered silver trophy over his head." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524688/original/file-20230505-8275-jir0br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524688/original/file-20230505-8275-jir0br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524688/original/file-20230505-8275-jir0br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524688/original/file-20230505-8275-jir0br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524688/original/file-20230505-8275-jir0br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1032&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524688/original/file-20230505-8275-jir0br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1032&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524688/original/file-20230505-8275-jir0br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1032&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Goaltender Patrick Roy hoists the Stanley Cup after the Montréal Canadiens beat the Los Angeles Kings to win the Stanley Cup in June 1993.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s plausible that fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Montréal Maroons were relieved when the 1930 Stanley Cup was won by the Montréal Canadiens over the heavily-favoured Boston Bruins.</p>
<p>In fact, W.A. Hewitt, Sporting Editor of the <em>Toronto Daily Star</em> noted in 1930: “Montréal’s Canadiens today returned the Stanley Cup to Canada, birthplace of hockey … the Stanley Cup is returned home after a two-year sojourn in the United States.” </p>
<p>So while it might seem natural for Canadian fans to seek an oasis in a time of drought by rooting for any Canadian team, the question remains: Why do many Canadian hockey fans feel the urge to support teams they would ordinarily delight in rooting against? </p>
<p>Perhaps the answer lies within the connection between Canadian national identity and the National Hockey League itself. </p>
<h2>Hockey and nationhood</h2>
<p>While <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/big-read-canada-will-always-hockey-country/">hockey is undoubtedly one of Canada’s national pastimes</a> and passions, the NHL occupies an outsized presence in our collective cultural imagination.</p>
<p>Although the league is a business that straddles the Canadian-American boarder and draws from an international talent pool, the NHL’s seven Canadian teams loom large over the landscape of Canadian culture, dwarfing almost any other institution. </p>
<p>Canada is not the only country with a keen interest in its teams, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4129220">but our shared investment in the performance of our teams throughout Canadian history</a> — despite the existence of other leagues, sports and other cultural touchstones that represent us on the national and global stages — sets us apart.</p>
<p>This unusual dynamic led author Ryan Edwardson to argue the following in his book <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9780802095190/canadian-content/"><em>Canadian Content: Culture and the Quest for Nationhood</em></a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Canada provides a fascinating case study in which to explore how nationhood has been defined and pursued through culture.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>While sport plays a role in many nations’ cultural identities, Canada’s symbolic identification with hockey culture, and chiefly the performance and reputation of our NHL representatives, leaves our sense of nationhood vulnerable. </p>
<p>When our self-conception becomes too closely tied to the fate of our NHL teams, their performance is a direct reflection of our own national quality and character. </p>
<h2>Americanization of hockey</h2>
<p>As the <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-expansion-history/c-281005106">NHL has expanded beyond six</a>, 12, 14, 16, 18, 22 and eventually 32 teams, a new encroachment emerged in the minds of some Canadian hockey fans: Americanization. </p>
<p>Throughout the mid- to late-20th century, <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9780802095190/canadian-content/">an influx of American popular culture into Canada</a> caused genuine concern about hockey being subsumed by the voracious economic appetite of America after the Second World War.</p>
<p>For many Canadians, national identity was found by clinging to our NHL teams. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of hockey players in white, blue and orange uniforms skate towards each other with their arms out. A hockey player in black and white skates by them with his head down." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524691/original/file-20230505-23-ulnz8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524691/original/file-20230505-23-ulnz8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524691/original/file-20230505-23-ulnz8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524691/original/file-20230505-23-ulnz8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524691/original/file-20230505-23-ulnz8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524691/original/file-20230505-23-ulnz8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524691/original/file-20230505-23-ulnz8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Edmonton Oilers players celebrate the team’s 5-4 win against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 6 of an NHL Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Los Angeles on April 29.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sports management professors <a href="https://www.mqup.ca/canada-s-game-products-9780773535985.php">Craig Hyatt and Julie Stevens note</a>: “Canadian hockey fans view Americans as villains whose aggressive changes to ‘our’ game show that they care little for the importance and meaning of hockey within Canadian culture.” </p>
<p>This undoubtedly contributed to Canadian sensitivity around the absence of the Stanley Cup during the 21st century and has been exacerbated by the recent drought of Canadian teams failing to win the Stanley Cup.</p>
<p>With aggressive and repeated American expansion, hockey itself has changed with it. Rules, playing styles and equipment all changed as the number of NHL franchises expanded. With it grew the sense that <a href="https://macleans.ca/society/the-united-states-of-hockey/">the game was becoming less and less Canadian</a>.</p>
<h2>Canadian rivalries</h2>
<p>Regardless of this perceived American encroachment into hockey, there are still Canadian fans unwilling to let go of their rivalries — even if it means rooting for another Canadian team.</p>
<p>Canadian national hockey includes many <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=WpI_rzHaT8oC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false">historical, geographic</a> and even linguistic rivalries against other Canadian teams. An example of this is seen in
Roch Carrier’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/24417/the-hockey-sweater-by-roch-carrier-illustrated-by-sheldon-cohen/">renowned story <em>The Hockey Sweater</em></a>. </p>
<p>The story <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130903003559/http://www.cbc.ca/books/2012/03/roch-carrier-talks-about-the-hockey-sweater-that-changed-his-life.html">recounts an incident from Carrier’s childhood</a> where a department store mistakenly sent him a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey instead of a Montréal Canadiens jersey. The residents of his town don’t react well to him wearing the sweater of the Canadien’s biggest rival, and the experience nearly ruined hockey for him.</p>
<p>The story doesn’t end with the protagonist accepting his Toronto Maple Leafs sweater and fearlessly adopting Leafs fandom in the heart of French Canada. It ends with a desperate prayer for insects to devour his sweater. </p>
<p>The sentiment expressed by <em>The Hockey Sweater</em>’s main character is familiar to many segments of Canadian hockey fans as well. For every desperate fan looking to align themselves with neighbouring Canadian teams, there are still those who would prefer that the moths win instead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204893/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taylor McKee receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p>Why do many Canadian hockey fans feel the urge to support teams they would ordinarily delight in rooting against?Taylor McKee, Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1949942023-02-02T13:23:01Z2023-02-02T13:23:01ZHow legalized sports betting has transformed the fan experience<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507660/original/file-20230201-9483-d3kdz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5434%2C3368&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">DraftKings is one of a handful of sportsbooks that have been advertising during live sporting events.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/detail-view-of-a-draftkings-sportsbook-advertisement-during-news-photo/1433395123?phrase=draftkings sportsbook&adppopup=true">Brett Carlsen/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A couple of days before Christmas, I went to see the NHL’s Nashville Predators play on their home ice against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.</p>
<p>Amid all the silliness of a modern pro sports experience – the home team skating out of a giant saber-toothed tiger head, the mistletoe kiss cam, a small rock band playing seasonal hits between periods – there was a steady stream of advertising for <a href="https://www.draftkings.com">DraftKings</a>, a company known as a sportsbook that takes bets on athletic events and pays out winnings.</p>
<p>Its name flashed prominently on the Jumbotron above center ice as starting lineups were announced. Its logo appeared again when crews scurried out to clean the ice during timeouts. Not only was “DraftKings Sportsbook” on the yellow jackets worn by the people shoveling up the ice shavings, it was also on the carts they used to collect the ice. </p>
<p>This all came a few days after the Predators <a href="https://www.nhl.com/predators/news/betmgm-named-an-official-sports-betting-partner-of-nashville-predators/c-338972672">announced a multiyear partnership with another sportsbook, BetMGM</a>, that will include not only signage at their home venue, Bridgestone Arena, but also a BetMGM restaurant and bar.</p>
<p>If I had cared to that evening, I could have gone onto the sports betting app on my smartphone and placed a wager on the game. Tennessee is one of <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/research/state-gaming-map/">33 states plus the District of Columbia</a> where sports betting is legal. On Jan. 31, 2023, <a href="https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampden-county/legal-sports-betting-in-massachusetts-begins-tuesday/">Massachusetts became the latest state to legalize the practice</a>.</p>
<p>The point of depicting the whole scene is simply this: In the nearly five years since the Supreme Court allowed states <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/us/politics/supreme-court-sports-betting-new-jersey.html">to legalize sports betting</a>, a whole industry has sprouted up that, for tens of millions of fans around the country, is now just part of the show.</p>
<p>Betting’s seamless integration into American sports – impossible to ignore even among fans who aren’t wagering – represents a remarkable shift for an activity that was banned in much of the country only a few years ago.</p>
<h2>A new sports world</h2>
<p>Let’s look at the numbers for a start.</p>
<p>Since May 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a law that limited sports betting to four states including Nevada, US$180.2 billion has been legally wagered on sports, according to the American Gaming Association’s research arm. That has generated $13.7 billion in revenue for the sportsbooks, according to figures provided to me by the AGA, the industry’s research and lobby group.</p>
<p>Before the NFL kicked off last September, the <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/new/record-46-6-million-americans-plan-to-wager-on-2022-nfl-season/">AGA reported</a> that 18% of American adults – more than 46 million people – planned to make a bet this season. Most of that was likely to be bet through legal channels, as opposed to so-called corner bookies, or illegal operatives.</p>
<p><iframe id="D0Ren" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/D0Ren/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>So, who’s betting on sports? In an interview, David Forman, the AGA’s vice president for research, told me that compared with traditional gamblers – those who might play slots, for instance – “sports bettors are a different demographic. They’re younger, they’re more male, they’re also higher income.”</p>
<p>They’re people like Christian Santosuosso, a 26-year-old creative marketing professional living in Brooklyn, New York. Santosuosso didn’t bet on games until it became legal. Now he and his buddies will pool their money on an NFL Sunday to spice up both the interest in a game and the conversation in the room.</p>
<p>“It’s entertainment,” he told me in a phone interview. He explained that even a tough gambling loss can be amusing or funny, a way to look back on the mistakes your team made that ended up affecting whether you won the bet. But he added that he has a limit on how much he’ll bet.</p>
<h2>Coverage and conversation</h2>
<p>Shortly after Supreme Court ruling in 2018, I wrote a piece for <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-states-legalize-sports-betting-will-sports-media-go-all-in-98686">The Conversation</a> asking if the media would start to produce content aimed at bettors. </p>
<p>The answer has been an unequivocal “yes” – and it seems to have helped change the way sports betting is talked about. </p>
<p>As I write this, if I look at the front page of ESPN.com, I see that the University of Georgia is a 13.5-point favorite over Texas Christian University in the college football national championship. It’s front and center, right next to the kickoff time and the TV network where it’s airing.</p>
<p>But that’s the least of it. </p>
<p>ESPN has broadcast a gaming show since 2019, “Daily Wager.” In September 2022, the sports conglomerate announced <a href="https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2022/09/espn-expands-sports-betting-content-portfolio/">an array of new content</a> centered on betting advice and picks. And SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt is famous for his <a href="https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-has-given-scott-van-pelts-bad-beats-segment-a-monthly-show.html">“Bad Beats” segment</a>, in which Van Pelt typically highlights how a team on the winning side of the point spread falls apart at the last second in a crazy way.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a cottage industry of betting tip channels has emerged on YouTube – if you type “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/sportsbetting">#sportsbetting</a>” into YouTube’s search bar, you’ll find thousands of them.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dwiCuTX9ay0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Gambling-centered programming is now a regular feature of sports media.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another example of how things have changed: On Jan. 2, 2023, the University of Utah’s football team had the ball first and goal with 43 seconds left, down 21 points to Penn State in the Rose Bowl. The game was essentially over. However, the commentators noted that a touchdown would mean a lot to some people.</p>
<p>Who? Why? The announcers didn’t elaborate, but the implication was obvious: Those who had bet the over – wagering that together the two teams would score more than 54 points – had a lot riding on that touchdown. So, in a sense, did ESPN. In a blowout, fans of both teams are likely to tune out. But when there’s money riding on something like the over, eyes stay glued to the screen. </p>
<p>Utah ended up scoring on third down with 25 seconds remaining. <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401442014">Final score</a>: Penn State 35, Utah 21. </p>
<h2>The danger and the ceiling</h2>
<p>I’ve been editing sports articles since the early 1990s and have run <a href="https://www.bellisario.psu.edu/people/individual/john-affleck">the sports journalism program at Penn State</a> since 2013. I have noticed how my students now routinely talk about the point spread – the expected margin of victory – and even the over-under, a wager on the total number of points scored.</p>
<p>That just did not happen so often when I first got to State College, nor in the newsroom before that.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Magazine cover with basketball hoop filled with dollar bills." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507171/original/file-20230130-24-njtnah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For decades, fears of game fixing – and the ways in which it would taint the image of sports leagues – made gambling a taboo among league executives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://sicovers.com/featured/boston-college-point-shaving-scheme-february-16-1981-sports-illustrated-cover.html">Sports Illustrated</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sports leagues were once <a href="https://www.si.com/betting/2021/08/09/gambling-issue-daily-cover">vehemently opposed to gambling</a>. And while they’re still concerned <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/07/1085045547/nfl-receiver-calvin-ridley-suspended-for-2022-season-after-gambling-on-games">about keeping players from betting</a>, many leagues – particularly the NFL – have made a complete U-turn since legalization.</p>
<p>There are multiple reasons for this change of heart. While the concern used to be about <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-gambling-built-baseball-and-then-almost-destroyed-it-123254">losing the integrity of the game to a betting scandal</a>, now sports leagues can argue that legal betting allows for better monitoring of potential cheating. If heavy betting happens on one team, or if there’s sudden shift in betting patterns, it’s all visible to the sportsbooks and might indicate nefarious activity. </p>
<p>There’s also <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/09/14/as-more-states-legalize-the-practice-19-of-u-s-adults-say-they-have-bet-money-on-sports-in-the-past-year/">significant fan interest in legal wagering</a> – 56% of Americans adults, and nearly 7 in 10 men, recently told Pew that they’ve read at least a little about how widespread legal sports betting has become.</p>
<p>And, of course, there is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/26/tech-gambling-alcohol-helped-nfl-earn-almost-2-billion-in-sponsorships.html">big money from a new sponsorship group</a> – the sportsbooks – that helped drive overall NFL sponsorship revenue to a record $1.8 billion in the 2021 season. </p>
<p>The danger, of course, is <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gambling-disorder/what-is-gambling-disorder">gambling addiction</a>.</p>
<p>And while the AGA is quick to note that its member companies pledge to <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/resources/responsible-gaming-regulations-and-statutes-guide/">give information about problem gambling to their customers</a>, legalization has undoubtedly provided <a href="https://theconversation.com/access-to-sports-betting-in-the-us-has-exploded-since-2018-and-were-just-starting-to-learn-about-the-effects-192055">easier and more secure access to sports betting</a>. </p>
<p>Keith Whyte, executive director of the <a href="https://www.ncpgambling.org/">National Council on Problem Gambling</a>, said in a telephone interview that research by his group had found that roughly 25% of American adults bet on sports, somewhat more than the AGA’s estimate. That percentage has jumped from roughly 15% before the Supreme Court ruling, per the NCPG.</p>
<p>While that’s a big increase, it also suggests that perhaps there is a ceiling coming up – in other words, when all the states that will do so legalize sports betting, wagering still won’t be done by many more people than now, Whyte speculated.</p>
<p>“I think it’s changing the market in a lot of ways,” Whyte said, “but my guess is it’s mainly to increase the intensity – and associated risk of problem gambling – among fans that were already engaged fans.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194994/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Affleck does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The opportunity to place bets has changed the way games look, the way they’re talked about – and, of course, how many people have money riding on the outcome.John Affleck, Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1709302021-11-08T15:56:29Z2021-11-08T15:56:29ZFrom the Chicago Blackhawks to Washington’s football team, there’s an urgent need for more accountability in pro sports<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430030/original/file-20211103-27-1wtovsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C15%2C5197%2C3457&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Chicago Blackhawks are currently being sued by a former player who is accusing an assistant coach of sexual assault in 2010, at the time the team largely ignored the allegations.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) </span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/from-the-chicago-blackhawks-to-washington-s-football-team--there-s-an-urgent-need-for-more-accountability-in-pro-sports" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>How are sports teams that generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue unable to address issues of sexual misconduct? They just don’t want to be bothered.</p>
<p>October is normally nirvana for sports fans. <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/2021-22-nhl-regular-season-start-times/c-325961646">The NHL</a> and <a href="https://www.nba.com/key-dates">NBA seasons have just begun</a>, the <a href="https://talksport.com/sport/955136/mlb-world-series-2021-date-time-play-offs-game-los-angeles-dodgers/">MLB World Series is underway</a>, the <a href="https://www.wnba.com/playoffs2021/">WNBA championships have just finished</a> and football and soccer are everywhere. But as <em>Defector</em> sports columnist Ray Ratto writes, <a href="https://defector.com/this-all-really-sucks/">it’s hard to feel good about being a sports fan these days</a>. </p>
<p>Incidents of sexual misconduct, and how they have been handled, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/gary-bettman-sexual-assault-investigation-chicago-nhl-1.6233056">highlight how professional sports organizations refuse to offer accountability</a>, and the problems these situation create.</p>
<h2>Two cases in the professional leagues</h2>
<p>One case took over 10 years to be addressed. The NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks were the subject of a 2021 lawsuit by former player Kyle Beach, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/10/28/1049910345/kyle-beach-reveals-chicago-blackhawks-coach-assaulted-him">who alleged sexual assault by video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010</a>. In response, Chicago hired an independent investigator, who <a href="https://jenner.com/system/assets/assets/11549/original/Report%20to%20the%20Chicago%20Blackhawks%20Hockey%20Team%20-%20October%202021.pdf">published their findings on Oct. 26</a>. The report found that after the assault was reported, management simply didn’t care and were more concerned with “the challenge of getting to the Stanley Cup Finals and a desire to focus on the team and the playoffs.”</p>
<p>In July 2020, the Washington Football Team (<a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31173323/nfl-owners-approve-dan-snyder-buyout-washington-football-team-minority-owners-source-says">a regular source of legal drama</a>) faced <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/16/redskins-sexual-harassment-larry-michael-alex-santos/">claims of sexual misconduct in the workplace</a> — this is not the first time the team has dealt with claims like these. </p>
<p>In 2008 and 2010, the team’s cheerleaders claimed <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/after-jon-gruden-resigns-cheerleaders-demand-nfl-release-report-on-washington-football-teams-boys-club">that nude photos of them were leaked</a>. This was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/02/10/washington-football-team-cheerleaders-settlement/">settled in February 2021</a>. The Washington Football Team hired a lawyer to investigate the workplace misconduct claims, the investigation was taken over by the NFL who <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31745729/nfl-fines-washington-football-team-10m-culture-investigation">announced the conclusion of the investigation</a> on July 1, without publishing its findings.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Six Washington Football Team cheerleaders perform on the field. The stands are full behind them. The girls are wearing red spandex pants, white tops and red and yellow pompoms." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430033/original/file-20211103-15-1jjsvnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430033/original/file-20211103-15-1jjsvnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430033/original/file-20211103-15-1jjsvnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430033/original/file-20211103-15-1jjsvnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430033/original/file-20211103-15-1jjsvnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430033/original/file-20211103-15-1jjsvnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430033/original/file-20211103-15-1jjsvnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Washington Football Team was hit by lawsuits from their cheerleaders for allegedly distributing a secret, uncensored video of a cheerleader photoshoot to executives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mark Tenally)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Accountability in professional sports</h2>
<p>Professional sports in North America have operated largely in its own world. Sports leagues are essentially partnerships of the teams. The leagues govern themselves, <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/waslee72&div=14&id=&page=">away from government regulation</a> and <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1732667.html">largely outside the purview of courts</a>. North American professional leagues try to handle things internally as much as possible.</p>
<p>This environment allows leagues <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-6704-939-9_15">to operate “autonomously.”</a> But it also renders the leagues and teams largely unaccountable to athletes, fans and other stakeholders.</p>
<p>Accountability is necessary, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055405051476">and can exist when an organization can be held to a standard</a>, and judged as to whether or not they have met that standard. Organizations that hold themselves accountable <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8608.00208">may lead to the public’s increased trust in them</a>. There are various ways to strengthen accountability, with one key method <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27800692">being transparent</a>.</p>
<p>Chicago’s independent investigation was made public. The report pointed to the team’s failure to act following the claim of sexual abuse — in violation of their own policies — and the team was fined US$2 million. </p>
<p>Within hours of publication, president and general manager <a href="https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/stan-bowman-steps-down-gm-us-olympic-mens-hockey-team">Stan Bowman “stepped aside</a>.” And former head coach <a href="https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/32498538/joel-quenneville-resigns-florida-panthers-coach-wake-chicago-blackhawks-sexual-abuse-case">Joel Quennville resigned</a> from his coaching position with the Florida Panthers two days later. It appears that these, and others involved, will need to be cleared by the NHL Commissioner <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/commissioner-gary-bettman-statement-joel-quenneville-resignation/c-327342922">before returning to a job in the league</a>. </p>
<p>As of Nov. 8, the NFL has not released its report. The Washington Football Team was fined US$10 million, and executives were <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-announces-outcome-of-washington-football-team-workplace-review">required to take training</a>. However, no one associated with the team appears to have been disciplined. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-dont-have-an-ounce-of-racism-in-me-jon-gruden-and-the-nfls-whiteness-problem-169806">'I don't have an ounce of racism in me': Jon Gruden and the NFL's whiteness problem</a>
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<p>The only person who has been negatively impacted following this investigation was Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/10/13/1045688076/with-jon-gruden-gone-cheerleaders-and-players-want-the-nfl-to-release-more-data">whose emails with a Washington Football Team executive</a> included topless photos of Washington Football Team cheerleaders.</p>
<p>These emails from Gruden — which also featured <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/10/12/jon-gruden-resigns-las-vegas-raiders-homophobic-misogynistic-emails">racist, anti-LGBTQ and misogynistic language — were leaked and he resigned</a>.</p>
<p>The report contributed to those responsible for harm being held accountable. A 2020 study examining college sports suggests that internal discipline structures <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2019.06.002">may create an environment where sexual assault is more likely to occur in sports programs</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden stands behind a podium. He is wearing all black and has a perplexed look on his face. He is scratching his temple with one of his fingers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430045/original/file-20211103-16987-knxe92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430045/original/file-20211103-16987-knxe92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430045/original/file-20211103-16987-knxe92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430045/original/file-20211103-16987-knxe92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430045/original/file-20211103-16987-knxe92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430045/original/file-20211103-16987-knxe92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430045/original/file-20211103-16987-knxe92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jon Gruden is no longer coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after emails he sent before being hired in 2018 contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s next for professional sports?</h2>
<p>Whenever there is a scandal in sports, such as <a href="https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/03/17/today-in-baseball-history-mcgwire-sosa-and-palmeiro-testify-before-congress/">steroids in baseball</a>, <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=4601966">concussions in football</a> or <a href="https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/in-wake-of-nfl-failure-to-address-domestic-violence-blumenthal-introduces-legislation-to-end-permanent-anti-trust-exemption-for-professional-sports-leagues">domestic violence amongst athletes</a>, government often makes feeble attempts to appear to do something. </p>
<p>This time around, the <a href="https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/congressional-committee-member-comments-on-review-of-nfls-handling-of-wft-investigation/2850366/">U.S. Congress is making noise about getting involved</a>. There might even be a hearing. But it’s unlikely anything meaningful will be accomplished.</p>
<p>The investigations show how important an independent investigator and the transparency of findings are to holding leagues and teams accountable for their actions. It should send a signal to teams and leagues that perhaps some sort of independent investigator should be established as a permanent fixture for professional sports.</p>
<p>Leagues responding to these scandals through investigations that aren’t transparent needs to stop, and a proper oversight body needs to be created. If sport wants to maintain the trust of the public, it needs to be more accountable.</p>
<p>Look to high-performance sports, like gymnastics. Because of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/1/19/16897722/sexual-abuse-usa-gymnastics-larry-nassar-explained">various sexual misconduct scandals</a>, they’ve had to establish <a href="https://www.viasport.ca/quality-sport/safe-sport">SafeSport programs</a>, which aim to ensure that “sport experiences for all participants are enjoyable and free from harm.” </p>
<p>Something like this could serve as a model for professional leagues. There’s also an added level of accountability to be gleaned from high-performance sport disputes as they can be resolved by tribunals such as the <a href="http://www.crdsc-sdrcc.ca/eng/home">Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps this is something that the newly appointed Canadian <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/government/ministers/pascale-st-onge.html">minister of sport</a> could pursue?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170930/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Gauthier does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Incidents of sexual misconduct, and how they have been handled, highlight the lack of accountability in professional sports, and the problems that this situation creates.Ryan Gauthier, Associate Professor of Law, Thompson Rivers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1657392021-08-26T15:08:38Z2021-08-26T15:08:38ZNFL and NHL salary caps have worked out well for players<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415044/original/file-20210806-90685-fj23gq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3667%2C2475&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff throws a pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Seattle in January. The Rams will have to count Goff’s signing bonus towards their salary cap for the next four years, despite trading him to Detroit.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Scott Eklund)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Salary caps are a controversial issue in any collective bargaining situation in professional sports. The introduction of a cap by National Hockey League owners <a href="https://www.prostockhockey.com/hockey-resources/miscellaneous/nhl-strike-and-lockout-history/">resulted in a lockout</a> that led to the cancellation of 2004-05 NHL season. The salary cap issue caused another season disruption in 2012-13.</p>
<p>In short, salary caps limit the amount of money a professional sports team can spend on their athletes. The National Football League was the first professional league to introduce one in 1994, followed by the national basketball and hockey leagues in later years. </p>
<p>The reason the NFL salary cap came into place was to make the league more competitive and to <a href="https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/item/an-introductory-guide-to-the-nfl-s-salary-cap">avoid runaway payroll spending</a> by wealthier teams, <a href="https://theconversation.com/pandemic-moneyball-how-covid-19-has-affected-baseball-odds-157203">in contrast with Major League Baseball</a> (the only North American sports league that doesn’t have a salary cap) that has teams of “haves” and “have nots” because of asymmetric payrolls.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pandemic-moneyball-how-covid-19-has-affected-baseball-odds-157203">Pandemic Moneyball: How COVID-19 has affected baseball odds</a>
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<p>To make the league more competitive — and avoid having differences in the performance of large and small markets teams — the NFL also employs revenue sharing. Both these mechanisms make the NFL one of the most socialistic professional leagues around the world, where teams share about 60 per cent of the league’s revenues. Without revenue sharing and salary caps, it would be impossible for small market teams like Green Bay or Buffalo to compete.</p>
<p>The NFL cap is characterized as a “hard” one because teams must always stay under it, but there are still ways around it. The NFL also introduced a hard salary floor — a requirement that all teams spend at least a certain percentage of the league cap. Both the cap and floor are tied to the league’s revenues and are adjusted annually. Until the last two collective bargaining agreements, the salary cap was at 50 per cent of the NFL revenues. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The NFL’s actual salary cap over time (the red line) and the trendline (the straight blue line). The graph shows that the salary cap is upward sloping, with the trend line capturing about 98 per cent of the behaviour of salary cap over time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Due to contractual issues, there was no salary cap in 2010, leading to a long lockdown in 2011, followed by a settlement between the NFL Players Association and the NFL collective bargaining agreement that reduced the salary cap from 50 per cent of the revenue to 47 per cent. This led to the flattening of the salary cap. </p>
<p>Because of COVID-19, the league’s revenue <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/03/02/business-of-football-understanding-the-salary-cap-dead-money">dropped even further in 2020</a> and hence the 2021 salary cap will drop from $198 million to $182.5 million. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man in a suit holding sheaf of papers stands in front of microphone. Five other men in suits stand in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr stands in front of several NHL players at a news conference following collective bargaining talks between the NHL and the NHLPA in 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Manipulating the salary cap</h2>
<p>Salary caps can be manipulated by allocating some of the contract to a signing bonus, which, in turn, is distributed <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/03/02/business-of-football-understanding-the-salary-cap-dead-money">over the years of the contract</a>. However, this strategy can result in “dead money” counting towards the salary cap if a player leaves the team. Quarterback <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/detroit-lions/jared-goff-18949/">Jared Goff’s contract</a> with the Los Angeles Rams is an example of this. </p>
<p>In 2019, the Rams signed Goff for a <a href="https://www.profootballnetwork.com/jared-goff-contract-details-salary-bonuses/">five-year contract extension</a>, with a signing bonus of US$25 million (counting for US$5 million per year towards the salary cap).</p>
<p>Last year, Goff renegotiated his contract and received another US$9 million signing bonus. This combined signing bonus was prorated for an annual US$6.8 million for 2021, 2022 and 2023 and $1.8 million in 2024. </p>
<p>However, the Rams traded Goff to the Detroit Lions and even though Goff is no longer with the team, the Rams will have to count the signing bonus ($22.2 million in total) towards the salary cap for the next four years.</p>
<h2>The cryptocurrency loophole</h2>
<p>A novel and fascinating way to circumvent salary caps is illustrated by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/exclusive-messis-paris-st-germain-package-includes-crypto-fan-tokens-2021-08-12/">the recent use of cryptocurrency fan tokens</a> by Paris Saint-Germain as a signing bonus of Lionel Messi, one of the most iconic soccer stars in the world.</p>
<p>Paris Saint-Germain-issued fan tokens are linked to Ethereum (a cryptocurrency) and allow fans to participate in some decisions made by the team (for example, the music used by the team or armbands worn by the team) and connect socially with players. These fan tokens can be traded and their price is related to the team performance.</p>
<p>It is estimated that the fan tokens granted to Messi by Paris Saint-Germain are valued between 25 million and 30 million euros. One advantage of fan tokens is that they are cheap for the issuing team, but provide real value to the recipient. The biggest advantage is fan tokens are not considered for salary caps (which are called <a href="https://www.uefa.com/news/0253-0d7f34cc6783-5ebf120a4764-1000--financial-fair-play-all-you-need-to-know/">“financial fair play” rules</a> in European football).</p>
<p>The Messi situation likely means two things are happening now in other professional leagues: franchises are investigating using the same crypto tool to circumvent salary caps and leagues are considering ways to close the loophole. Ironically, rich teams in North American pro leagues (the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Lakers) that might issue fan tokens will become even richer because they have the biggest following of fans.</p>
<h2>The effect of salary caps on players’ salaries</h2>
<p>I’m a professor in financial analysis and in my day job, one of my areas of research is how game theory is applied to financial situations. Game theory is the study of strategic interaction among players (individuals or firms) to explain their behaviours. Businesses, sport teams, military organizations and governmental policy makers commonly use it on a regular basis for strategic decision making. </p>
<p>From a game-theoretic viewpoint, major league sports should be characterized as an “all pay auction,” where every bidder pays the bidding costs but <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3087482">only the winner takes the prize</a>. This type of analysis leads to an interesting and unexpected insight — salary caps increase the payroll spending of teams. </p>
<p>Without salary caps, the “have not” teams might feel like they have no real chances against the “haves.” But because of salary caps, these teams <em>do</em> feel like they have a fighting chance, so they spend money on player salaries, which increases the average team payroll spending. This means the immediate effect of a salary cap is an increase in the average player’s salary, while superstars’ salaries decrease. From this perspective, the NHL Players Association’s early war against the salary cap ended up hurting average players and protecting the superstars. </p>
<p>The other effect of a salary cap is that having a more competitive league helps teams grow their fan bases (because no one wants to watch a team that always loses, although <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/changes-maple-leafs-make-worst-collapse-yet/">the Toronto Maple Leafs are an exception to that rule</a>). That, in turn, can increase the league’s revenues, leading to a higher cap and, ultimately, higher salaries. </p>
<p>To show this, I analyzed the average team payroll in the NHL since the introduction of the salary cap. As the chart below shows, the average team payroll has been trending upwards in the NHL since the establishment of the salary cap, not counting the lockdown year.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The average team payroll in the National Hockey League was US$81.5 million in 2019-20 compared to $34.3 in 2005-06 — 138 per cent higher. The graph shows that the average team payroll in the NHL is upward sloping (with the trend line capturing about 89 per cent of the behaviour of average team payroll over time).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Salary caps have been around since 1994 and are used in all North American professional sport leagues with different degrees. They were instituted to enhance competitiveness among league teams, and to large extent were successful in achieving this goal.</p>
<p>Despite the opposition of salary caps by player unions in the past, game theory and actual data shows that caps have actually increased average players’ salaries over time. Coupled with how salary caps can help smaller teams stay competitive against those with deeper coffers, it’s clear they currently play an important role in the financial well-being of major league sports teams.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165739/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ramy Elitzur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>NFL salary caps were originally introduced to make the league more competitive and reduce performance differences between small and large market teams. But they have also worked out well for players.Ramy Elitzur, Associate Professor, Financial Analysis, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1650472021-07-26T16:52:41Z2021-07-26T16:52:41ZThe Montreal Canadiens have legitimized rape culture by drafting Logan Mailloux<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413149/original/file-20210726-26-4t0kuh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5781%2C3808&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Montreal Canadiens fans cheer during game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in Montreal on July 5, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson </span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Trigger warning: Sexual violence.</em></p>
<p>After coming up short in the <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/why-montreal-canadiens-lost-stanley-cup-final/c-325605658">Stanley Cup final</a>, the Montreal Canadiens have lost again after <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-draft-montreal-canadiens-logan-mailloux-1.6115744">drafting a player charged with distributing a sexual photo without consent</a>.</p>
<p>In the recent <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-draft-round-1-picks-analysis-coverage/c-325756734?tid=277764372">NHL entry draft</a>, the franchise selected 18-year-old defenceman <a href="https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/582695/logan-mailloux">Logan Mailloux</a> in the first round, a move that has generated a great deal of complex, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadiens-draft-pick-logan-mailloux-apologizes-for-sharing-sexual/">divisive dialogue</a>.</p>
<p>Whether users’ comments condemn or condone Mailloux’s unlawful conduct, they help highlight the ongoing influence of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-rape-culture-says-about-masculinity-85513">rape culture</a> in men’s hockey and prompt a necessary, contentious discussion about whether — and when — athletes accused of sex crimes deserve a second chance from teams and fans.</p>
<h2>The crime</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/nhl-draft-prospect-logan-mailloux-faces-uncertain-future-after-criminal-charge-in-sweden/"><em>Daily Faceoff</em></a> reported that many NHL organizations had unofficially placed Mailloux, from Belle River, Ont., on their “do not draft” list after the would-be first-round pick was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/07/20/logan-mailloux-withdraws-nhl-draft/">charged in Skelleftea, Sweden</a> with both offensive photography (<em>kränkande fotografering</em>) and defamation. He was ordered to pay a fine.</p>
<p>While on loan from the Ontario Hockey League’s <a href="https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/206/london-knights">London Knights</a>, Mailloux secretly captured a lewd photograph of a young woman during a <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/mailloux-surprised-to-be-drafted-by-canadiens/c-325785354">sexual encounter</a> and, without her consent, later uploaded that image — along with her first name and age to a group chat with his <a href="https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/271/sk-lejon/stats/2020-2021">Swedish teammates</a> on Snapchat.</p>
<p>Mailloux, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident in November 2020, <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/embattled-nhl-prospect-logan-mailloux-renounces-himself-from-2021-draft-143855019.html">was fined</a> approximately $2,000 and was allowed to continue playing in the <a href="https://www.eurohockey.com/league/141-hockeyettan.html">Swedish Hockeyettan</a> without further repercussions.</p>
<p>As word of Mailloux’s misconduct spread, NHL teams began distancing themselves from the prospect: a cautious, calculated move that prompted the defenceman <a href="https://twitter.com/loganmailloux_/status/1417454073582850048/photo/1">to issue a statement</a> on Twitter, renouncing himself from the 2021 NHL draft to give teams a year to reassess his character and maturity.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1417454073582850048"}"></div></p>
<p>When Mailloux was drafted 31st overall by the Montreal Canadiens, most <a href="https://podcast.sportsnet.ca/31-thoughts/the-good-and-bad-of-draft-weekend/">analysts were surprised</a>, and <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/jack-todd-the-habs-had-a-chance-to-do-the-right-thing-they-failed">critics voiced valid questions</a> about whether Mailloux should have been drafted so soon — or ever.</p>
<h2>A public apology</h2>
<p>Mailloux <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/prospect-logan-mailloux-dropped-from-at-least-9-nhl-teams-draft-lists/7p33VpUjGuXB">apologized publicly</a> eight months later by expressing deep regret over his “stupid,” “egotistical,” “childish” and “irresponsible” mistake. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/canadiens-make-shocking-dismaying-choice-select-mailloux-draft/">defenceman’s tweet</a>, though likely composed by his agent or lawyer, reflects a necessary, prescriptive commitment to personal reflection and growth.</p>
<p>In an <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/mailloux-surprised-to-be-drafted-by-canadiens/c-325785354">interview after the draft</a>, Mailloux admitted: “I do not think that I earned the right to be drafted.” Mailloux’s message is clear and arguably genuine, but its delivery is convoluted, especially because the woman he photographed claims to have received little more than an <a href="https://theathletic.com/2716093/2021/07/20/woman-victimized-by-nhl-prospect-in-sweden-all-i-wanted-was-a-heartfelt-apology/">insincere three-sentence apology</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1418942253012246532"}"></div></p>
<h2>A culture of sexual violence</h2>
<p>For months, Mailloux has been <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/mailloux-surprised-to-be-drafted-by-canadiens/c-325785354?tid=277764372">taking part in counselling with a therapist</a>. An <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/nhl-draft-prospect-logan-mailloux-faces-uncertain-future-after-criminal-charge-in-sweden/">independent psychological report</a>, available to NHL teams upon request, reveals that Mailloux possesses strong “impulse control,” “emotional intelligence” and “social responsibility.” </p>
<p>Why, then, did he choose to commit such a crime?</p>
<p>Like many male athletes, Mailloux admitted to feeling “<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/nhl-draft-prospect-logan-mailloux-faces-uncertain-future-after-criminal-charge-in-sweden/">pressure from the guys</a>” and sent the photograph as a “trophy” to “impress” his teammates. His honesty about feeling compelled to both document and share evidence of his intimate experiences — which in no way excuses his deplorable actions — exposes the <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2017/06/09/male-athletes-need-be-educated-about-sexual-assault-essay">culture of sexual violence</a> that so often permeates men’s sport and defines <a href="https://www.diopress.com/product-page/being-boys">various forms of masculinity</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.wavaw.ca/what-is-rape-culture/">Rape culture</a>, in part, is a collection of systemic attitudes and behaviours that both foster and trivialize sexual assault by teaching boys and men that it is normal and acceptable to objectify girls and women. As a patriarchal function, this culture absolves sexual perpetrators of <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadiens-draft-pick-logan-mailloux-apologizes-for-sharing-sexual/">responsibility and accountability</a>.</p>
<p>The fact that Mailloux uploaded the picture to a group chat likely — and surely — means that he is not the first of his teammates to do so. Across all sports, some male athletes treat social media as a virtual <a href="https://livewire.thewire.in/gender-and-sexuality/boys-will-be-boys-if-we-stay-silent-about-locker-room-talk/">locker rooms</a>, where they brag of their sexual achievements and share sordid stories of <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/jmkbzb/rape-culture-has-poisoned-junior-hockey">their “conquests</a>” of women.</p>
<h2>Prioritizing skills over ethics</h2>
<p>The NHL is no stranger to this morbid, misogynistic form of so-called entertainment. Last year, the Washington Capitals terminated the contract of <a href="https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=130673">Brendan Leipsic</a> after details from a <a href="https://nationalpost.com/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-caps-release-leipsic-after-woman-bashing-chat-goes-public/wcm/78e97e76-8a13-4bea-9af3-8fe1e7a68a89">private Instagram group chat</a> that defiled and mocked women had been leaked to the public.</p>
<p>Though Mailloux may indeed be serious about bettering himself to regain the trust of his fan base and new organization, his invitation to join one of the <a href="https://www.thedelite.com/best-sports-teams-history/23/">most celebrated clubs in sport</a> — and the problematic, positive reception he has already received from many social media users — implicitly <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/jack-todd-the-habs-had-a-chance-to-do-the-right-thing-they-failed">condone his crime</a>.</p>
<p>When news broke of Mailloux’s story, users across social media were quick to defend him by describing him as a “kid” who made a “simple, innocent mistake” by sending a “harmless” picture to his friends. Angry that someone had “snitched” and broken a sacred, unspoken rule of the sport, a serious crime became a “young boy’s shortcoming” in a “hockey culture” that should have done more to protect one of its own.</p>
<p>Their opinions were vindicated by the Canadiens’ decision to prioritize skills over ethics.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Fans cheer the Montréal Canadiens on the streets with an inflatable stanley cup" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413152/original/file-20210726-13-mov5n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413152/original/file-20210726-13-mov5n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413152/original/file-20210726-13-mov5n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413152/original/file-20210726-13-mov5n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413152/original/file-20210726-13-mov5n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413152/original/file-20210726-13-mov5n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413152/original/file-20210726-13-mov5n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Montreal Canadiens drafted Logan Mailloux. How does this impact fans of cheering for the team?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When the Canadiens’ assistant general manager <a href="https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/team/trevor-timmins">Trevor Timmins</a> was asked about drafting Mailloux against his personal wishes, he paused for a <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/stu-cowan-canadiens-should-show-concern-for-logan-maillouxs-victim">telling 21 seconds of silence</a> before asking for the question to be rephrased.</p>
<p>Later in the interview, Timmins added: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We’re going to help him through this difficult time, the difficult waters he has. We have a really good support staff that’s going to help him along and we believe in him.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If Mailloux is as remorseful as he has made himself seem for the media, I do hope that he can learn from his wrongdoing. However, discussing the alleged difficulty that Mailloux is facing is egregious and disrespectful to the victim of Mailloux’s crime — as well as all survivors of sexual violence.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/statement-on-the-selection-of-logan-mailloux/c-325764184">statement following the draft</a>, the Canadiens noted that they “by no means minimize the severity of Logan’s actions.” </p>
<p>However, by drafting Mailloux and attempting to justify their actions by perpetuating the sexual violence they claim to denounce, the Canadiens have done just that. By underscoring <a href="https://www.bustle.com/articles/182150-brock-turners-college-athlete-privilege-compounded-his-white-male-privilege">male privilege</a> in hockey, the Montreal Canadiens have not only <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/groups-say-habs-draft-choice-trivializes-violence-against-women">tolerated rape culture</a>, but legitimized it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165047/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gianluca Agostinelli receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).</span></em></p>The ongoing influence of rape culture in men’s hockey prompts a contentious discussion about whether — and when — athletes involved in sex offences deserve a second chance from teams and fans.Gianluca Agostinelli, PhD Candidate, Educational Studies, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1622282021-06-11T12:39:31Z2021-06-11T12:39:31ZSports writers could ditch the ‘clown questions’ and do better when it comes to press conferences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405702/original/file-20210610-25-1lo5ey4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C3%2C2174%2C1507&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'I'm here so I don't get fined,' Seattle Seahawks' star running back Marshawn Lynch repeatedly told a Jan. 27, 2015, press conference on media day for NFL Super Bowl XLIX. And then he left.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SuperBowlFootball/5fcc23333e3844049f35efece6db2668/photo?Query=Marshawn%20AND%20Lynch&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:asc&dateRange=&totalCount=496&currentItemNo=99">AP Photo/Charlie Riedel</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>LeBron James had enough.</p>
<p>During the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk_EBNLyqxw">press conference after Game 1 of the 2018 NBA finals</a>, James was questioned repeatedly by ESPN’s <a href="https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/mark-schwarz/">Mark Schwartz</a> about the mental state of teammate J.R. Smith, whose final-seconds rebounding blunder contributed to a Cleveland Cavaliers overtime loss. </p>
<p>Over 70 seconds and four questions, Schwartz probed for the inner workings of Smith’s mind, before James finally stood up, put on sunglasses, grabbed his briefcase and walked out through the gathered press corps. </p>
<p>He uttered a single sentence: “Be better tomorrow.”</p>
<p>It was not the first verbal tangle between reporter and sports star, and it will not be the last. Recently tennis star Naomi Osaka <a href="https://theconversation.com/naomi-osakas-withdrawal-from-the-french-open-highlights-how-prioritizing-mental-wellness-goes-against-the-rules-on-the-court-and-off-161972">left the French Open for mental health issues exacerbated</a>, she said, by facing questions at the tournament-required press conferences. </p>
<p>These examples represent a fundamental struggle between athletes and those who cover them: interviews contested in a press room forum that feel more like a mixed-martial arts octagon than Oprah’s couch.</p>
<p>On one side are reporters who need quotes to flesh out stories they hope will stand out from their competitors. On the other are athletes, who often want to be anywhere but in that press room.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RWywq1yCtCs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">LeBron James: ‘Be better tomorrow.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Birth of the press conference</h2>
<p>I am a <a href="https://comm.osu.edu/people/kraft.42">professor of sports journalism</a> at Ohio State. Every semester I teach students to be good interviewers and get comfortable asking questions in front of other writers in the press conference setting. </p>
<p>As an Associated Press sportswriter, I also feel uncomfortable in nearly every press conference I cover, worried I will ask a question others perceive as superfluous or uninformed, and sometimes cringing at questions I hear from others.</p>
<p>Sports writing has included post-game interviews since <a href="https://www.sportsmediaguy.com/blog/2017/5/9/the-history-of-sports-journalism-part-1-of-3">publishers realized covering sports would sell newspapers</a> in the early 20th century. In those days, the conversations were up close, face-to-face, building relationships. Writers got to know the rhythm of athlete and coach moods and balance them with coverage deadlines.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sportsmediaguy.com/blog/2017/5/10/the-history-of-sports-journalism-part-2-of-3">arrival of broadcast news</a> brought greater demand for access, and the press conference was born. But the exclusive coverage club that once required a printing press and mainstream publication for team access has more recently expanded in the <a href="https://nsjc.mediaschool.indiana.edu/smg-whats-changed-about-sports-journalism/">digital world</a> to self-proclaimed publishers with a mobile device and an internet connection. </p>
<p>The requirements are established between the league and the media. The <a href="https://cms.nhl.bamgrid.com/images/assets/binary/319913866/binary-file/file.pdf">NHL agreement</a>, for example, provides that 10 minutes after each game, each club will make key players and the head coach available. The <a href="https://www.profootballwriters.org/nfl-media-access-policy/">NFL agreement</a> states, “Reasonable cooperation with the news media is essential to the continuing popularity of our game and its players and coaches.” </p>
<p>What happens in a press conference is another issue. </p>
<h2>Yes, there are stupid questions</h2>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/atr60tR7Emo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Taurean Prince schools the reporter who asked how his team, Baylor, could have been outrebounded by Yale: ‘They got more of those than we did.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Press conference interaction is more transactional than conversational. Team reps call on reporters. Reporters ask questions. Athletes do their best to answer questions – whether they won a midseason game or lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.</p>
<p>But those questions.</p>
<p>A Toronto TV reporter asked <a href="https://billypenn.com/2019/03/03/the-informed-philadelphians-guide-to-bryce-harper-18-things-to-know/">Bryce Harper, a nondrinking Mormon</a>, whether he planned to celebrate a homer with a beer. Harper’s response: “<a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/8047918/washington-nationals-bryce-harper-clown-question-retort-takes-off">I’m not answering that. That’s a clown question, bro.</a>”</p>
<p>A reporter asked Serena Williams why she was not smiling after her quarterfinal win in the 2015 U.S. Open, a question rarely – if ever – asked of men.</p>
<p>After noting it was 11:30 p.m., and she’d rather be in bed, Williams added, “<a href="https://time.com/4030176/serena-williams-venus-press-conference-reporter/">I don’t want to answer any of these questions</a>. And you guys keep asking me the same questions. You’re not making this super enjoyable.” </p>
<p>Taurean Prince was asked after an upset in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament to explain how Yale could have possibly outrebounded his Baylor team. </p>
<p>His response: “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atr60tR7Emo">You go up and grab the ball off the rim when it comes off. And then you grab it with two hands, and you come down with it. And that’s considered a rebound. So they got more of those than we did.</a>”</p>
<p>Few sports fans can forget Allen Iverson refuting that he did not practice as hard as the Philadelphia 76ers deserved.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eGDBR2L5kzI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Allen Iverson tells reporters: ‘We’re talking about practice…not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2100499-worst-questions-ever-asked-at-a-sports-press-conference">quote sports publication Bleacher Report</a>, “Sometimes, a question is just so poorly researched, poorly timed or just plain poor that it makes you wonder what on Earth the reporter was thinking. Better yet, how does this reporter still have a job?”</p>
<h2>Ask questions to get answers</h2>
<p>The press conference goal for media is to get insights to feed the fans’ insatiable appetite to be in the know about their favorite competitor or team. </p>
<p>Some athletes, like tennis star Rafael Nadal, acknowledge the role the media can play in building brand and reputation. <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2021/05/28/tour-players-react-to-osaka-talking-to-media-part-of-job/116661270/">After Osaka refused to speak at the press conference</a>, Nadal told reporters, “Without the press … we (aren’t) going to have the recognition that we have around the world, and we will not be that popular, no?”</p>
<p>In truth, athletes no longer need the press to communicate with their fans. They can do that directly through social media channels. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CU1BuC1672U?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Seattle Seahawks’ Marshawn Lynch tells a reporter during Super Bowl Media Day 2015: ‘I’m just here so I won’t get fined.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sports journalists have extraordinary access that can inform fans’ understanding of the athletes and their performances, but they must do better if they are to remain relevant.</p>
<p>If sports reporters better researched games and subjects, they could ask questions that focused on more than just a single moment in time. That could turn “How did that team outrebound you?” into “You guys seemed to struggle to get position under the basket compared with your last game. What did this team do differently that proved challenging to you?” That would give fans a much better insight into the game.</p>
<p>Sports writers often make sources do all the work by asking them to “talk about” a moment in time – the third inning, the fourth quarter, the play of the quarterback. Being more specific with a question will get a more detailed answer.</p>
<p>Sports writers could consider how it would feel to be asked the question they plan to pose. How should a player feel when they win or lose a big game? Reporters who have compassion for the person at the microphone and the experience they endured get better answers. </p>
<p>Interviewing is hard, and press conferences make it no easier. Everyone hears your question and each reporter gets the same information, so standing out can be a challenge. Training and professional development in the art of the question is imperative to see question-asking as the chesslike game that it is. </p>
<p>Before asking a question (make a move), anticipate the response to that question (opponent’s move). Is it the answer sought or needed? If not, be prepared to ask that question another way or ask another question. And what will be the follow-up question (next move)?</p>
<p>Anticipating and benefiting from moves is how you win at chess. It is also how you win at interviewing.</p>
<p>Let us all be better tomorrow.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162228/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Kraft does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Athletes no longer need the press to communicate with fans. They can do that directly through social channels – and unless sports reporters do a better job asking questions, they may become obsolete.Nicole Kraft, Associate Professor of Clinical Communication, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1345062020-09-21T17:11:43Z2020-09-21T17:11:43ZFor the love of the game: What old men’s hockey can teach young players<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358730/original/file-20200917-22-14kivtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C3704%2C2197&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Men in a league of senior hockey players show more concern about each other than the score of the game.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s not uncommon to find news reports documenting abuse, violence and racism in hockey, both <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/sports/hockeys-chance-to-reckon-with-its-culture-of-abuse/">at the professional</a> and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-former-student-sues-private-st-michaels-college-school-after-alleged/">amateur levels</a>. </p>
<p>Hockey, particularly when played competitively by boys and men, seems to produce social conditions ripe for this kind of conduct. And it starts young. Sport sociologists like Cheryl MacDonald have documented <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2017-0133">the proliferation of homonegative and sexist locker room language</a> in Midget AAA hockey, concluding that “the dressing room is not yet a fully inclusive space.”</p>
<p>Queen’s University kinesiology professor Courtney Szto has interviewed South Asian hockey players, coaches and parents in British Columbia, and found that <a href="https://hockeyinsociety.com/2017/05/28/south-asian-experiences-in-hockey-one-narrative/">many people understand Canada’s national game as belonging to white people</a>. Through the stories of South Asian hockey players, she shows how white players, staff and fans treat non-white players with open hostility and racism.</p>
<h2>A different kind of league</h2>
<p>In spite of this, not all leagues are created equal. And as this very strange NHL season is finally <a href="https://www.nhl.com/stanley-cup-playoffs/2020">reaching its conclusion</a> and <a href="https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/2020-news-update-on-return-to-hockey">youth hockey is just restarting</a>, there is something to be learned by looking at how the sport is played by old men.</p>
<p>The Silver Skaters, a hockey league in a mid-sized Ontario city noted for its aging population, caters to men in later life, with more than 300 hundred men playing in three different age divisions: over 55, over 63 and over 70. Their hockey belies <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ssj/25/4/article-p462.xml">the violence and abuse associated with young men’s hockey</a> and can teach us important lessons about hockey’s potential.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A goalie stretches in the foreground as hockey players in the background get ready to practice." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358735/original/file-20200917-14-onfwrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358735/original/file-20200917-14-onfwrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358735/original/file-20200917-14-onfwrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358735/original/file-20200917-14-onfwrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358735/original/file-20200917-14-onfwrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358735/original/file-20200917-14-onfwrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358735/original/file-20200917-14-onfwrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is a unique, caring culture in the Silver Skaters hockey league.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ildar Garifullin/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Before the COVID-19 lockdown, I spent several weeks with the Silver Skaters, conducting research on the experiences of athletes in later life. (For the purpose of my research, I have kept the names of the players anonymous, as well as the exact location of the league.) I was interested in the meanings that older men brought to their participation in sport. And how playing sports influenced their understandings of aging, their bodies and gender. </p>
<p>I watched their games twice a week. I spent time chatting informally with players and sometimes family members during the games, arranging more formal interviews with players afterwards. As I conducted this research, I was struck by the incredible care and respect that players have for one another. Players regularly spoke of the game’s importance to their lives, their identities and to understanding the aging process.</p>
<h2>Players celebrated</h2>
<p>Not only does the game fully stop whenever a player falls to the ice, but almost every player celebrated those who continued to play despite health issues. These included cancer treatments, heart surgery, broken bones and joint replacements. But most players said it was their teammates who bring them back.</p>
<p>Fred, a 70-year hockey veteran — and at 81 years old, one of the best players in the league — told the story of Tony, who played with Parkinson’s disease. “He played … and we took care of him and made sure he got home alright. On the ice no one went near him because he was very unsteady on his skates, but he loved the game.” When Tony became too unstable on the ice, he carried on as a team coach.</p>
<p>Another player, Thomas, took the season off while he received cancer treatments, unsure if hockey was in his future. But in the midst of a break in chemotherapy treatments, he visited the rink to say hello to his former teammates. Many of the players filed out from behind the bench in order to warmly receive him — most with a big hug.</p>
<p>The freedom from conventional sports practices allows some players to play with disabilities and enables everyone to develop different kinds of skills. The Silver Skaters don’t keep score during the games. The end of year banquet presents no awards for the best team, most goals or best player. Several men explained that it was better to help a weaker player score goals than to score them yourself.</p>
<p>Wendel commented: “I know what my skill set is and I try to play within that and I get the pleasure of passing and backchecking and stopping a goal.”</p>
<h2>A unique culture</h2>
<p>Everyone wanted good competitive hockey. They lauded the team selection process that worked to keep parity throughout the league. Players who were too fast and too aggressive were gently coached to understand the league’s unique culture. If the players couldn’t get on board with this way of playing, they were politely asked to go elsewhere.</p>
<p>Fred explained: “We have kicked a couple of players right out of the league for their aggressiveness. … Nobody wants to get hurt out there.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A hockey player shoots and misses as a goalie makes a save." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358733/original/file-20200917-24-1x5i8bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358733/original/file-20200917-24-1x5i8bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358733/original/file-20200917-24-1x5i8bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358733/original/file-20200917-24-1x5i8bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358733/original/file-20200917-24-1x5i8bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358733/original/file-20200917-24-1x5i8bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358733/original/file-20200917-24-1x5i8bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">He shoots … he doesn’t score … and that’s OK!</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ildar Garifullin/Unsplash)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This culture fostered a sense of awe and celebration of the oldest players in the league. Participants would often point out the players with new joints. They expressed joy at how others were moving, despite mobility issues. </p>
<p>Wendel, for example, pointed to a goalie, explaining that the man had a reconstructed hip and had returned to hockey after a lengthy absence. He told me that it was better to shoot wide on the goalie, valuing player safety over personal achievement.</p>
<p>Mrs. Smith, the wife of a player recently diagnosed with dementia, spoke warmly of the importance of the Silver Skaters to both her and her husband, especially after his diagnosis. She explained that the players provided care for him. They made sure he got to the ice with all of his equipment and watched out for him during the games.</p>
<p>Being around players he’d known for years made her husband comfortable. Lauding the importance of physical activity, she explained that hockey provided them with a bit of break both from each other and from the stress of coping with a relatively new diagnosis.</p>
<p>The story of men’s team sports is so rarely a story of care or a celebration of different abilities. The Silver Skaters, on the other hand, provide a window into how men’s sports, like hockey, can be (in some ways at least) inclusive and compassionate environments, open to players who differ in important ways from the athletes we’ve idealized in the past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristi Allain receives funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Research Chair program.</span></em></p>Canadians love hockey and many play the sport well into their senior years. A researcher who spent time with a Silver Skaters league found their unique love of the game could help younger players.Kristi Allain, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, St. Thomas University (Canada)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1426202020-07-31T12:22:32Z2020-07-31T12:22:32ZWhy a Canadian hockey team’s name recalls US Civil War destruction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350483/original/file-20200730-13-fp5gmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3522%2C2340&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Czech-born goaltender for a Canadian hockey team wears a jersey recalling the 1864 burning of Atlanta, Georgia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Flames-Predators-Hockey/a0c87ed448414065a8e72a4c6e41fae8/128/0">AP Photo/Mark Zaleski</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the National Hockey League gets its abbreviated season back underway, a team with a name hearkening back to the Civil War will <a href="https://www.nhl.com/flames/schedule/2020-08-01/MT">take the ice</a> – in Canada.</p>
<p>In September 1864, having conquered the city of Atlanta, U.S. Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman proposed marching his army to the coastal city of Savannah, Georgia, destroying railroads, factories, farms and other major sources of Confederate power along the way. <a href="https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/rethinking-shermans-march/">Sherman’s March to the Sea</a> was an example of a military strategy called, in Sherman’s words, the “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4361/4361-h/4361-h.htm">hard hand of war</a>,” in which an army destroys not only military targets but takes supplies from the residents, leaving the civilian population demoralized and short of food and shelter.</p>
<p>In 2017, I was in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for a conference, when I took an opportunity to see a hockey game between the Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators. There, as I sat high up in the seats with a beer and a burger, the word “Flames” was in the air, and a light show depicted flames on the ice and around the arena’s perimeter. I wondered if I, an early American historian, was the only person in the place thinking about how a 21st-century hockey team connected with Gen. Sherman’s 1864 Atlanta campaign and the destructive journey to Savannah.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350498/original/file-20200730-13-10ifgwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Soldiers chop up railroad tracks and burn buildings." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350498/original/file-20200730-13-10ifgwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350498/original/file-20200730-13-10ifgwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350498/original/file-20200730-13-10ifgwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350498/original/file-20200730-13-10ifgwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350498/original/file-20200730-13-10ifgwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350498/original/file-20200730-13-10ifgwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350498/original/file-20200730-13-10ifgwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 1864, the Union Army destroyed railroad tracks and burned buildings in Georgia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.09326/">Alexander Hay Ritchie engraving after F.O.C. Darley drawing.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A city ablaze</h2>
<p>There were actually two conflagrations of Atlanta – one that was authorized and another that was not. </p>
<p>The Sherman-authorized burning targeted Confederate military resources, including machine shops, railroad depots and arsenals. When the fires reached munitions housed in a machine shop, the explosion made the Atlanta night “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4361/4361-h/4361-h.htm">hideous</a>,” Sherman wrote. </p>
<p>Despite orders that nonmilitary structures not be torched, Union soldiers drunk with either rage or with spirits went on to burn much more. As the fire spread, Sherman noted that “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4361/4361-h/4361-h.htm">the heart of the city was in flames all night</a>.” </p>
<p>When Sherman and his army rode out of Atlanta on the morning of November 16, 1864, he and others looked back “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4361/4361-h/4361-h.htm">upon the scenes of our past battles</a>.” There stood Atlanta, Sherman recalled, “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4361/4361-h/4361-h.htm">smouldering and in ruins</a>, the black smoke rising high in air, and hanging like a pall over the ruined city.” </p>
<p>As they left the ruined city behind, a band “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4361/4361-h/4361-h.htm">struck up the anthem</a> of ‘<a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010565/">John Brown’s soul goes marching on</a>’; the men caught up the strain, and never before or since have I heard the chorus of ‘Glory, glory, hallelujah!’ done with more spirit, or in better harmony of time and place.” </p>
<p>Ulysses S. Grant, the Union commander who would later become the 18th president of the United States, commented in his memoirs that Gen. Sherman’s Atlanta campaign “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4367/4367-h/4367-h.htm">was managed with the most consummate skill</a>” and “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4367/4367-h/4367-h.htm">was one of the most memorable in history</a>.” Grant, like others, argued that its <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4367/4367-h/4367-h.htm">success contributed to Abraham Lincoln being elected</a> to a second – and, as it turned out, fatal – term. “The news of Sherman’s success reached the North instantaneously, and <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4367/4367-h/4367-h.htm">set the country all aglow</a>,” Grant wrote.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350523/original/file-20200730-33-jpz3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An 1864 photo of Atlanta, showing chimney stacks where buildings used to be." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350523/original/file-20200730-33-jpz3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350523/original/file-20200730-33-jpz3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350523/original/file-20200730-33-jpz3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350523/original/file-20200730-33-jpz3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350523/original/file-20200730-33-jpz3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350523/original/file-20200730-33-jpz3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350523/original/file-20200730-33-jpz3qz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In November 1864, downtown Atlanta stood in ruins, with chimney stacks showing where buildings used to be.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.loc.gov/item/2005681133/">George N. Barnard/Library of Congress</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Southerners, of course, saw Sherman’s fiery and destructive march differently. Southern writer Eliza Andrews, then 24, <a href="https://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/andrews/andrews.html">wrote in her journal</a> during the war that “The dwellings that were standing all showed signs of pillage, and on every plantation we saw the charred remains of the gin-house and packing-screw, while here and there, lone chimney-stacks, ‘Sherman’s Sentinels,’ told of homes laid in ashes. The infamous wretches[!]” </p>
<p>According to Sherman biographer James Lee McDonough, Sherman’s name would “<a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/William-Tecumseh-Sherman/">come to symbolize that terrible time in Atlanta</a>, when a deep and lasting scar, which rankles to this day, was created in the hearts of many Southerners.”</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="332" src="https://player.pbs.org/viralplayer/2365546468/" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" seamless="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<h2>A wound that still burns</h2>
<p>More than a century later, the National Hockey League decided to add a team in Atlanta, as well as one in New York. To select a name for the Atlanta team, its owner, the real-estate developer and owner of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team, Tom Cousins, held a contest in 1971 that received 10,000 entries.</p>
<p>The name chosen was “Flames,” though hockey writer Stephen Laroche notes in his book “<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/changing-the-game-a-history-of-nhl-expansion/oclc/967847196&referer=brief_results">Changing the Game: The History of NHL Expansion</a>,” that it got only 198 of the total ballots.</p>
<p>Even in the early 1970s the memory still burned of Union troops under Sherman’s command setting fire not only to factories, farms and warehouses but also to homes and shops in the city center that were destroyed in the unauthorized fire.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350490/original/file-20200730-33-1pjyblb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two hockey players vie for control of the puck." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350490/original/file-20200730-33-1pjyblb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350490/original/file-20200730-33-1pjyblb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350490/original/file-20200730-33-1pjyblb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350490/original/file-20200730-33-1pjyblb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350490/original/file-20200730-33-1pjyblb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350490/original/file-20200730-33-1pjyblb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350490/original/file-20200730-33-1pjyblb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the 1970s, the Flames called Atlanta home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Blackhawks-Flames-Mikita/f787161f5a4f4f1d8d17995650d22970/71/0">AP Photo/Joe Holloway Jr.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By bringing the Atlanta Flames into the NHL, the league began its own march into the South. It was a slow start, but the sport would eventually win over fans in the former Confederacy. In the 2020 season, the <a href="https://www.nhl.com/standings/2019/conference">NHL has teams in Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas and Florida</a> – which has two.</p>
<p>A group of Canadian businessmen led by Nelson Skalbania bought the Flames and moved the team to Calgary after the 1979-1980 season. They <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/name-game-football-baseball-hockey-basketball-how-your-favorite-sports-teams-were-named/oclc/1083042707&referer=brief_results">kept the name</a> because some of the team’s new owners were in the oil industry, which is also associated with flames.</p>
<h2>Named for calamity</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350487/original/file-20200730-35-1fdvwcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A basketball player dunks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350487/original/file-20200730-35-1fdvwcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350487/original/file-20200730-35-1fdvwcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350487/original/file-20200730-35-1fdvwcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350487/original/file-20200730-35-1fdvwcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350487/original/file-20200730-35-1fdvwcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350487/original/file-20200730-35-1fdvwcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350487/original/file-20200730-35-1fdvwcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The University of Illinois at Chicago Flames are named for a different fire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/flames-guard-braelen-bridges-with-the-slam-dunk-during-the-news-photo/1206487220?adppopup=true">Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Naming a sports team after a destructive event may seem peculiar. Strangely, it is not – especially when it comes to destruction by fire. I’m writing from a suburb of Chicago, where the <a href="http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1740.html">Great Fire of 1871</a> killed 300 people, destroyed more than 18,000 buildings, and left homeless more than 100,000 people – a third of the city’s population. It also provided scorching monikers for the professional soccer team, the <a href="https://www.chicagofirefc.com/">Chicago Fire</a>, the <a href="https://uicflames.com/">University of Illinois at Chicago Flames</a> and the short-lived <a href="https://americanfootballdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/World_Football_League">World Football League team from Chicago</a>, also called the Fire for its one and only season in 1974.</p>
<p>Also, the <a href="https://www.nhl.com/avalanche/">Colorado Avalanche</a>, the <a href="https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/">Carolina Hurricanes</a>, and the <a href="https://cyclones.com/">Iowa State Cyclones</a> are all named after devastating natural forces. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>The Atlanta Flames were unique, however, for being named after an intentional destructive event, not a <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/why-named-carolina-hurricanes-florence-sports-teams-natural-disaster-1120674">force of nature or a natural tragedy</a>.</p>
<p>The Civil War echoes elsewhere in the NHL, too, with the <a href="https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> – the only team from Sherman’s home state of Ohio – which celebrates the Blue Jackets’ goals with <a href="https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/cannon-crew-blue-jackets-goal-celebration/c-305805094">booming cannon fire</a>. As professional hockey resumes across North America, even fans newly aware of the country’s struggle with the legacy of slavery may not be thinking about their Civil War history. But the team names are there to remind them anyway.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350485/original/file-20200730-27-1mdv0mf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A hockey player controls the puck behind his own net." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350485/original/file-20200730-27-1mdv0mf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350485/original/file-20200730-27-1mdv0mf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350485/original/file-20200730-27-1mdv0mf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350485/original/file-20200730-27-1mdv0mf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350485/original/file-20200730-27-1mdv0mf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350485/original/file-20200730-27-1mdv0mf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350485/original/file-20200730-27-1mdv0mf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Are the Columbus Blue Jackets still fighting for the Union?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Wild-Blue-Jackets-Hockey/1192b2b3cf574c0b8e23c135eaa07b51/116/0">AP Photo/Paul Vernon</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher J. Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A 21st-century hockey team is connected with Gen. Sherman’s Atlanta campaign and the destructive journey to Savannah.Christopher J. Young, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Director of the Center for Innovation and Scholarship in Teaching and Learning, and Professor of History, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1427932020-07-29T13:05:04Z2020-07-29T13:05:04ZThe business of sports resumes amid COVID-19, but at what cost?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349746/original/file-20200727-33-g4pkat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C26%2C3539%2C2329&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A New York Mets employee places cutouts of fans in the seats before the team's first game of the year on July 24.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Seth Wenig) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Professional sports are a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2015/10/19/sports-industry-to-reach-73-5-billion-by-2019/#38610251b4b9">multi-billion-dollar business,</a> including the revenues generated by sports advertising and <a href="https://globalsportmatters.com/business/2019/03/07/tv-is-biggest-driver-in-global-sport-league-revenue/">sports media organizations</a>. </p>
<p>One Canadian example of the size and scope of pro sports is the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rogers-reaches-12-year-broadcast-deal-with-nhl-worth-52-billion/article15600412/">$5.2-billion deal</a> Rogers Communications signed in 2013 for the rights to broadcast NHL games across the country until 2025.</p>
<p>But the current COVID-19 climate has posed serious challenges to the business of sports. Professional sports teams are resuming play <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-its-game-over-for-sports-as-we-know-them-absent-a-widely-distributed/">in the midst of the pandemic</a>, largely at odds <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/24/sports/this-virus-is-proving-be-formidable-foe-return-sports/">with the rest of society</a> as lockdowns continue, businesses remain shuttered and millions of people work from home or are grappling with unemployment. </p>
<p>The start of the Major League Baseball season is an indication of the chaos that comes with these unprecedented times. Less than a week into the season, half of the members of the Miami Marlins tested positive for COVID-19. <a href="https://apnews.com/d9604aed7c6e479fd5e1626af924d109">MLB subsequently suspended the Marlins’ season</a>, and the positive tests have postponed other teams’ games too. </p>
<p>With other professional sports leagues like the NBA and the NHL preparing to resume, there are concerns about the ethics of <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/nba-insider-tom-haberstroh/covid-testing-priority-potential-issue-nba">prioritized access to coronavirus-related health care</a> for professional athletes, the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/sport-politics-activism-perfect-mix-200705171056129.html">relationship between sports and politics</a> and renewed <a href="https://theundefeated.com/features/athletes-and-activism-the-long-defiant-history-of-sports-protests/">athlete activism</a>, particularly in the midst of the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A row of baseball players, each holding the same long strip of black cloth, kneel." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349719/original/file-20200727-35-13wpzdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349719/original/file-20200727-35-13wpzdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349719/original/file-20200727-35-13wpzdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349719/original/file-20200727-35-13wpzdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349719/original/file-20200727-35-13wpzdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349719/original/file-20200727-35-13wpzdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349719/original/file-20200727-35-13wpzdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the Washington Nationals baseball team kneel and hold a piece of black fabric in honour of the Black Lives Matter movement before an opening day baseball game against the New York Yankees at Nationals Park on July 23.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And what about the athletes? What do they want from both a <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nba/news/coronavirus-spurs-derozan-nba/1hwxnt5fk0pq41xo4r9oy8oftt">social justice and mental health perspective</a>? </p>
<p>As Nick Kypreos, a former NHL player, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sports-business-covid-19-nhl-hockey-fans-1.5656320">recently said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Players aren’t playing because they want to … they’re playing because they have to.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Sports typically reflect society</h2>
<p>Sports is typically a reflection of society, not an exception to it. COVID-19 seems to have turned the model of professional sport inside out. Never before in the modern era of North American professional sports have fans been so displaced from the game. </p>
<p>Historically, sport in North America developed into an industry with the advent of industrialization and urbanization more than a century ago. </p>
<p>As workers were gaining both increased leisure time and discretionary income, early sport organizers were adopting the elite British model of “leisurely pursuits” for the well-heeled in a more democratic way for society at large — and it worked.</p>
<p>Sport as entertainment, to play and watch, was born, and sports leagues and teams became organizational and commercial success stories.</p>
<p>But yesterday’s athletes were regular citizens compared with the highly paid superstars of today, living in step with their fellow fans, which made them relatable.</p>
<p>Communities and cities embraced sport as a driver of commercial and economic activity, which required significant infrastructure support (including the public financing of stadiums and arenas) over the years.</p>
<p>This era also began to benefit from technology, including transportation advances that made for faster and easier team and fan travel. <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/spalding_hi.html">Sporting goods companies like Spalding emerged</a>, making better equipment. New methods of promoting and selling professional sports quickly followed, heralding the birth of sports marketing. </p>
<p>This introduced new stakeholders into the sport business mix, in particular advertising and media partners, who also began to recognize the value of sports fans — an engaged and captive audience — who would buy their merchandise and read their newspapers for sports commentary. Eventually, those eyeballs began to be tracked and measured.</p>
<h2>Fans were central to sport success</h2>
<p>The citizens who engaged in this growing sport and entertainment model — sports fans — were fundamentally central to its success. The symbiotic relationship between fans and the professional sports industry grew and thrived, in particular from the 1950s, when <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/page/FansourceVeeck/bill-veeck-birth-fansourcing">creative, fan-centric strategies became popular</a> for many leagues and teams. </p>
<p>Contemporary sport professionals routinely discuss the importance of what’s known as <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2796259">fan avidity</a>, a key metric of success because research shows passionate fans have “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275031609_Measuring_fan_avidity_can_help_marketers_narrow_their_focus">been found to spend considerably more money, time, and effort for sports-related activities and goods than their non-avid fan counterparts</a>.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Fans cheer and celebrate the Toronto Raptors victory outdoors at night." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349718/original/file-20200727-31-1d0n3sy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349718/original/file-20200727-31-1d0n3sy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349718/original/file-20200727-31-1d0n3sy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349718/original/file-20200727-31-1d0n3sy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349718/original/file-20200727-31-1d0n3sy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349718/original/file-20200727-31-1d0n3sy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349718/original/file-20200727-31-1d0n3sy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fans react in Jurassic Park as the Toronto Raptors defeat the Golden State Warriors during Game 6 of the NBA Finals to win the NBA championship in Toronto on June 13, 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The fan experience and related consumer activities have traditionally been central to key management decisions of professional sports organizations — unlike now, when fans are at a distance, participating at arm’s length via large video-game like screens, cardboard cutouts and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/tv-sports-executives-warm-to-canned-crowd-noise-but-give-viewers-an-out-11592366400">canned crowd noise</a>.</p>
<p>Professional sports is back for a number of reasons, but none have much to do with why it was fundamentally established: For the fans, for the contributions sports teams made to social cohesiveness and for the communities that have traditionally supported pro sports, both financially and emotionally.</p>
<p>Instead, pro sports is back primarily to staunch the significant COVID-19 financial losses on behalf of ownership groups and to <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/29110487/sudden-vanishing-sports-due-coronavirus-cost-least-12-billion-analysis-says">satisfy media and corporate partners</a>. </p>
<h2>Orlando bubble is costly</h2>
<p>The resumption of professional sports, however, is also hugely costly to pro sports leagues. The NBA recently noted that the price of its Orlando bubble <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29394052/orlando-bubble-cost-nba-more-150-million">will exceed US$150 million</a>. There’s also a personal and health cost: Professional athletes <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/07/21/nfl-covid19-positive-tests-95">are still testing positive for the virus</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A Miami Heat player in a pale blue Miami Heat jersey looks down at the floor, his hands clasped against his forehead." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349733/original/file-20200727-23-1jy8ccx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349733/original/file-20200727-23-1jy8ccx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349733/original/file-20200727-23-1jy8ccx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349733/original/file-20200727-23-1jy8ccx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349733/original/file-20200727-23-1jy8ccx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349733/original/file-20200727-23-1jy8ccx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349733/original/file-20200727-23-1jy8ccx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. tested positive for COVID-19 in June after the Heat and other NBA teams began mandatory testing in preparation for the resumption of the season.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So the important question here is: Will resuming professional sports work, can it thrive without fans and is it safe for players?</p>
<p>In the current COVID-19 environment, the preferences and priorities of fans <a href="https://ca.news.yahoo.com/when-sports-return-after-coronavirus-pandemic-fans-will-have-changed-if-they-even-come-back-at-all-145618338.html">are complicated at best</a>, with some suggesting that they may never fully return to professional sport. </p>
<p>Public opinion surveys are varied and inconsistent — as many as 60 per cent and as few as 30 per cent of sports fans have told various pollsters that they’re eager for pro sports to return. Information from actual sport teams, however, on the topic of what their fans want is conspicuously lacking.</p>
<p>There’s little consensus on how enthusiastically fans will return to professional sport, specifically when it comes to congregating in stadiums or arenas. That’s due to a host of potential post-pandemic realities, including <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-the-future-of-live-sports-exclusive-and-unworkable/">unappealing levels of security</a> and <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/07/02/nfl-considers-fans-sign-liability-waivers-coronavirus">strict legal requirements</a> in terms of liability waivers. </p>
<p>A recent <em>New York Times</em> study reported that of 511 epidemiologists who ranked “everyday activities to do again” in a year, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/08/upshot/when-epidemiologists-will-do-everyday-things-coronavirus.html">attend a sporting event</a>” came in last, well behind the No. 1 pick of attending a wedding or funeral.</p>
<h2>Now what?</h2>
<p>So how can professional sports organizations get their fans back?</p>
<p>First off, they should keep fans at the core of their business strategy, customizing and tailoring messaging and engagements with fans via brand partnerships as much as possible. </p>
<p>They should make broad commitments to re-engage their diverse community and work to restore their position of social unifiers in society. They must break down the extreme barriers currently in place between athletes and fans while supporting and celebrating their athletes whenever possible.</p>
<p>And, as they did when the professional sports industry was born, they should continue to embrace innovation to drive enhanced fan engagement. They should extend the spirit of these efforts to their dealings with their key stakeholders, including corporate and media partners.</p>
<p>While the COVID-19 pause has created <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/21/welcome-back-sports/">huge challenges for professional sports</a>, organizations can use this opportunity to rethink and reshape the fan-centred experience for the next era of the industry throughout North America.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142793/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cheri L. Bradish does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sports is typically a reflection of society, not an exception to it. COVID-19 seems to have turned the model of professional sport inside out.Cheri L. Bradish, Professor of Sport Business, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1352932020-04-12T11:45:39Z2020-04-12T11:45:39ZThe NHL put profit ahead of players’ health during last century’s pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325884/original/file-20200406-110267-pnze20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C41%2C1554%2C988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inscriptions on the Stanley Cup shows no winner was declared in 1919 when the final series between Montréal and Seattle was cancelled because of the flu pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If the coronavirus pandemic hadn’t upended the world of sports, the National Hockey League playoffs would be under way now and 16 teams would be fighting for the Stanley Cup. </p>
<p>Instead, the NHL is considering <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/north-dakota-nhl-location-2019-20-season-resumes/">a number of different scenarios to try to save its season</a> and avoid what happened more than a century ago when a different pandemic prevented players from hoisting the Stanley Cup in victory.</p>
<p>On April 1, 1919, the Stanley Cup finals were cancelled mid-series because of the <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Spanish-Influenza-Pandemic-of-1918-1919-New-Perspectives/Killingray-Phillips/p/book/9780415510790">flu pandemic</a> that had ravaged the globe for about a year. Seattle’s Metropolitans, winners of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), and the NHL champion Montréal Canadiens had already played five games of a best-of-seven series. The Stanley Cup was never awarded.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325883/original/file-20200406-110267-12zokbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325883/original/file-20200406-110267-12zokbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325883/original/file-20200406-110267-12zokbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=769&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325883/original/file-20200406-110267-12zokbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=769&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325883/original/file-20200406-110267-12zokbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=769&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325883/original/file-20200406-110267-12zokbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=967&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325883/original/file-20200406-110267-12zokbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=967&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325883/original/file-20200406-110267-12zokbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=967&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the most famous trophies in sports history, the Stanley Cup, has not been awarded only two times prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic: in 1919, when the Cup final was cancelled because of the 1918 flu pandemic and when a labour-management dispute resulted in the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These days, hockey writers retell the peculiar story of the 1919 Stanley Cup as a curious echo of COVID-19 in our own time. In the past few weeks, the NHL and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6667383/coronavirus-chl-whl-next-steps/">Canadian Hockey League have suspended play</a>, the <a href="https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2020/wm/news/18344/2020-iihf-ice-hockey-world-championship-cancelled">International Ice Hockey Federation has cancelled its women’s and men’s tournaments</a>, and minor hockey programs have drawn the curtains on the season because of governments’ calls for social distancing, community solidarity and common sense.</p>
<p>And yet, if we look closely the hockey world’s reactions to the deadly viruses of 1918-19 and 2020, what is most striking is how much things have changed.</p>
<h2>A national passion</h2>
<p>When influenza appeared in 1918, hockey in Canada <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/24qbh7by9780252042201.html">was a national passion with many organizations supporting the sport among diverse groups</a>. By the 1910s, it had become a national passion among a diverse population — men and women, mill, lumber and mining-town workers, urban bourgeois, Indigenous people and settlers, Blacks and whites.</p>
<p>Hockey’s popularity and growth made the sport hard to control, despite the efforts of regional bodies like the Ontario Hockey Association (1890) to standardize rules and eligibility requirements.</p>
<p>The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association was created in 1914 and promised to govern the game uniformly from coast to coast, but by 1918 it had only begun that work. What’s more, hockey was riven by a division between amateurs and professionals.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://utorontopress.com/ca/lords-of-the-rinks-3">first openly pro leagues</a> had appeared only a decade earlier, the PCHA and the National Hockey Association (forebear to the NHL) among them. Canadians had only begun to embrace the legitimacy of paid athletes and pro hockey, shaken by the First World War, had uncertain prospects for survival.</p>
<h2>Haphazard response</h2>
<p>It’s no surprise then, that the sport’s response to the 1918 pandemic flu was haphazard.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325905/original/file-20200406-125671-14sartr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325905/original/file-20200406-125671-14sartr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325905/original/file-20200406-125671-14sartr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1739&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325905/original/file-20200406-125671-14sartr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1739&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325905/original/file-20200406-125671-14sartr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1739&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325905/original/file-20200406-125671-14sartr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=2186&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325905/original/file-20200406-125671-14sartr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=2186&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325905/original/file-20200406-125671-14sartr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=2186&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ottawa Senators player Hamby Shore died in 1918 after catching the flu.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When “<a href="https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/">La Grippe</a>” claimed the lives of Ottawa Senators player <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=14311">Hamby Shore</a> in October 1918 and Regina senior amateur Rusty Warren a month later, their deaths were mourned in the local press as lamentable happenstance. But there was no question that hockey games should be cancelled. In Victoria, coach/owner Lester Patrick’s <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/remembering+when+victoria+aristocrats+world+hockey+championship+1913/9702749/story.html">Aristocrats</a> exemplified the attitude that hockey should continue regardless of the health hazards.</p>
<p>Faced with a flu-sickened team in a playoff race in February 1919, the <em>Victoria Daily Times</em> noted that Patrick “set a record for signing players … as one man was stricken another was secured to fill his place.” It was in Victoria, likely in early March, where the Canadiens camped out awaiting the winner of the PCHA final between Seattle and Vancouver that team members were first infected.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325892/original/file-20200406-103690-1c61dzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325892/original/file-20200406-103690-1c61dzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325892/original/file-20200406-103690-1c61dzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325892/original/file-20200406-103690-1c61dzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325892/original/file-20200406-103690-1c61dzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325892/original/file-20200406-103690-1c61dzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325892/original/file-20200406-103690-1c61dzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325892/original/file-20200406-103690-1c61dzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Joe Hall of the Montréal Canadiens died after contracting the flu during the 1919 Stanley Cup finals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Library and Archives Canada)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Five games into the final series in Seattle, deadlocked 2-2-1, five Canadiens fell ill and were hospitalized. One of them, <a href="http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/player/Joe-Hall">defenceman “Bad” Joe Hall</a>, died there on April 5. The Stanley Cup itself bears the grim result: “1919 … Series Not Completed.”</p>
<p>Today, the commerce of sport, including professional men’s hockey, is firmly entrenched in a <a href="https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=16485">well-established corporate sport and entertainment nexus</a>. The NHL is not faced with the sort of existential challenges that confronted the early pro leagues like the PCHA and the NHA. And the tensions between amateurism and professionalism no longer exists.</p>
<h2>Blatant profit grab</h2>
<p>In the face of the 1919 pandemic, pro hockey owners pushed ahead with playoff games in what now seems like a blatant grab for profit. This is in contrast to the league’s definitive response to COVID-19 and the NHL Player Association’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-covid-19-suspended-season-1.5495002">immediate endorsement</a> of the decision to suspend play. Now, ownership and labour are united — a reverse stance to 1919 where ongoing league activity meant that sick players were quickly replaced and even died.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325911/original/file-20200406-125671-4c5fmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325911/original/file-20200406-125671-4c5fmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325911/original/file-20200406-125671-4c5fmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325911/original/file-20200406-125671-4c5fmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325911/original/file-20200406-125671-4c5fmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325911/original/file-20200406-125671-4c5fmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325911/original/file-20200406-125671-4c5fmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Seattle Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup in 1917 and were hoping to repeat in 1919. From 1915 to 1922, the winners of the National Hockey Association/National Hockey League played the winners of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association as part of an East-West challenge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Library and Archives Canada)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The NHL is also a product of an <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2015.1062990">integrated international sport system</a> where the COVID-19 response was rapid and consistent among pro hockey leagues around the world. Swift action initially came from the International Ice Hockey Federation, which announced that Halifax and Truro would host the 2021 Women’s World Championships because the <a href="https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2020/ww/news/18296/women%E2%80%99s-worlds-cancelled">2020 event was cancelled</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.iihf.com/en/news/18312/league-hockey-comes-to-almost-standstill">Asia League</a> was the first pro league to cease operation and within the span of a few days <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/top-leagues-in-slovakia-austria-poland-norway-cancel-seasons-due-to-coronavirus-outbreak">Swedish, Norwegian, Swiss, German, Polish and Austrian leagues</a> suspended or cancelled play. Russia’s <a href="https://www.chroniclejournal.com/sports/national_sports/khl-gives-up-on-trying-to-reschedule-its-playoffs-cancels/article_9429a6c0-86d4-5258-89f8-8894cd21c335.html">KHL</a> eventually followed suit. The congruent response among all these leagues indicates the extent to which hockey has become a homogeneous, integrated, globalized sport.</p>
<p>The key difference between then and now is the NHL’s strategy. The NHL has taken charge to manage the COVID-19 pandemic while in 1919 the professional leagues simply reacted to the pandemic.</p>
<p>A century ago, hockey took a business-as-usual approach after the flu pandemic ended in 1919. The same stay-the-course ways won’t work in today’s context. The NHL, as a powerful actor within the North American hockey system, needs to respond with genuine efforts to rebuild our sense of community. While corporate social responsibility initiatives are common among professional sport organizations, those with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2018.05.001">community-orientation</a> have a particularly positive impact.</p>
<p>The hockey community, like all of us, has many of its most important decisions regarding COVID-19 ahead of it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135293/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Stanley Cup hockey finals were cancelled mid-series in 1919 because of the flu pandemic. Unlike a century ago, the NHL has put player health ahead of profit when dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.Julie Stevens, Associate Professor, Sport Management and Director, Centre for Sport Capacity, Brock UniversityAndrew C. Holman, Professor of History, Bridgewater State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1286872020-01-14T17:04:10Z2020-01-14T17:04:10ZThe NHL’s culture problems have policy solutions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308145/original/file-20191220-11904-1fr07nw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C194%2C6461%2C4047&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom, of Sweden, looks on during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes in Vancouver, on Dec. 12, 2019. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Allegations about harassment, abuse and discrimination in hockey have rocked the sport over the past few weeks. Yet there is a curious silence as to how Sport Canada’s new suite of “safe sport” policies can help clean up the mess.</p>
<p>In late June 2019, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2019/06/the-government-of-canada-reinforces-its-commitment-to-safe-welcoming-and-inclusive-sport-environment.html">the federal government announced</a> its commitment to making sport “safe, welcoming and inclusive.” They backed up that commitment with a <a href="https://www.budget.gc.ca/2019/docs/plan/budget-2019-en.pdf">$30 million investment over five years</a>. Sport Canada’s safe sport initiative allows “Canadian sport organizations to ensure a safe and healthy sport environment by supporting additional measures to eliminate abuse, discrimination, harassment and maltreatment in sport.”</p>
<p>If there are mechanisms in place to help address hockey’s toxic culture — including <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2019/03/safe-sport-for-all.html">initiating an independent third-party investigation</a> — then shouldn’t we be talking about how to put these policies into effect and how to improve their effectiveness?</p>
<h2>Signs of a troubled hockey culture</h2>
<p>Commonly thought of as the connective tissue bonding Canadians, claims of abuse, discrimination and harassment have revealed hockey as a blunt instrument that tears this connective tissue apart.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/first-nation-losing-midget-aaa-hockey-team-1.5361848">When the highly successful, historic and Indigenous-led Beardy’s hockey program</a> was phased out <a href="https://theconversation.com/bring-back-beardys-blackhawks-indigenous-hockey-team-eliminated-from-sask-league-127597">of the Saskatchewan landscape</a>, Indigenous and non-Indigenous players were denied valuable opportunities to interact and participate in intercultural exchange through sport.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bring-back-beardys-blackhawks-indigenous-hockey-team-eliminated-from-sask-league-127597">Bring back Beardy's Blackhawks: Indigenous hockey team eliminated from Sask. league</a>
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<p>When former Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters, <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/akim-aliu-speaks-publicly-on-allegations-against-calgary-flames-head-coach-bill-peters-1.1403974">then a coach for the Rockford Ice Hogs of the American Hockey League,</a> used the N-word when dealing with a Black player, he did so because his career has existed within a racially homogenized, insulated environment. Peters was once recognized as one of Hockey Canada’s preferred coaches at the international level, coaching the Canadian under-18s, the World Championships and an assistant coach at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. This culture sheltered him from the consequences of using hateful language. </p>
<p>And, following years of making xenophobic comments during the Coach’s Corner segment of Hockey Night in Canada, longtime hockey commentator Don Cherry insinuated in a pre-Remembrance Day broadcast that immigrants were not grateful for the sacrifices of Canadian veterans.</p>
<p>These recent incidents are a part of hockey culture. They defy the safe, welcoming and inclusive space needed for athletes, coaches and other participants to excel. The implementation of the safe sport policies is crucial as hockey is reaching a crisis point regarding the abuse of players. These policies could be the impetus needed to force hockey and coaching organizations to face the issue head on.</p>
<h2>More oversight in sports</h2>
<p>It’s easy to focus on coaches as individuals. They serve as the de facto child and youth care workers, teachers and caregivers all rolled into one. Still, we cannot blame coaches any more than teachers should be the only ones held accountable for unethical classroom conduct. There needs to be oversight of what coaches do. Sports, and not just hockey, has been left to police itself for too long. Should those leaders turn a blind eye, then they should be held accountable for condoning such behaviour.</p>
<p>The need for oversight in organized sport has never been more apparent, especially in the wake of numerous scandals in the NCAA. Consider <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/28/us/penn-state-scandal-fast-facts/index.html">Penn State</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/05/757909245/michigan-state-university-to-pay-4-5-million-fine-over-larry-nassar-scandal">Michigan State’s</a> sexual abuse scandals.</p>
<p>Certainly the new safe sport policies for Canada have yet to be tested and, indeed, have some serious imperfections to work out. Thankfully, there are indications from government that its intent is genuine. For example, it may withhold funding if a sport organization does not implement “specific measures” to ensure compliance with the policies.</p>
<p>Still, other indicators are cause for concern. The independent third-party investigation option is available as a pilot project and closes March 2020. Can enough reliable evidence be collected in less than one year about these complex issues? </p>
<p>Troublingly, the safe sport policies deal almost exclusively with accountability measures for catching offenders. There is almost no emphasis on helping victims come forward and heal their wounds in a safe and respectful environment. </p>
<p>The disregard for their health and safety is similar to the lack of supports proposed for professional hockey players. In the wake of the Peters and Cherry scandals, the <a href="https://www.si.com/nhl/2019/12/11/hockey-reckoning-coaches-abuse-revelations">NHL recently instituted</a> a “mandatory annual program on counselling, consciousness raising, education and training on diversity and inclusion for head coaches and general managers.” Similar to the safe sport policies in Canada, there appears to be no support for the victims, in this case, the professional players.</p>
<p>Certainly, harassment, abuse and discrimination in hockey are not exclusively the NHL’s problem. The <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/sex-offender-graham-james-s-sentence-extended-to-5-years-1.1411543/">Graham James abuse scandal</a> from within Canadian junior hockey serves as a chilling reminder of the vulnerability of minors in Canada’s hockey system. As the world’s largest and most lucrative hockey organization, the NHL could require its affiliates to adopt safe sport policies similar to those being enforced in Canada. </p>
<h2>Can hockey afford to clean up its mess?</h2>
<p>The $30 million over five years might seem like a significant investment by the federal government. Yet this only amounts to $6 million per year to reform the entire Canadian sport system. Given the magnitude and depth of harassment, abuse and discrimination in hockey alone — from the grassroots to the professional level — addressing this issue using the courts could hamstring the budgets of many organizations.</p>
<p>The NHL generated <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/193468/total-league-revenue-of-the-nhl-since-2006/">US$5.09 billion in revenue during the 2018/19 year</a>. If the NHL decided to finance the implementation of the safe sport policies for hockey, it would account for 0.12 per cent of their 2018/19 revenue.</p>
<p>It might not be feasible to expect the NHL to cover these financial costs entirely. However, the NHL will continue to incur tangible and intangible costs by allowing players to remain vulnerable. </p>
<p>The cost of safe sport extends far beyond a balance sheet. </p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128687/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taylor McKee receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janice Forsyth receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). </span></em></p>Hockey’s scandals don’t have to persist if the federal government and the leagues can come together around the new safe sport policies.Taylor McKee, PhD Candidate and Instructor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western UniversityJanice Forsyth, Associate Professor, Sociology & Director, Indigenous Studies, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1272862019-11-18T21:20:22Z2019-11-18T21:20:22ZMyles Garrett, Don Cherry and the changing nature of the sports boys club<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302289/original/file-20191118-66973-1horxlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C49%2C2160%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) hits Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph (2) with a helmet during a National Football League game Nov. 14, 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/David Richard)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Don Cherry’s recent xenophobic remarks about immigrants and Remembrance Day sparked an international debate. The controversy has also shone a spotlight on toxic male sports masculinity, sporty boys and sports culture, including the platform sports give men to routinely speak without being challenged.</p>
<p>Comments made by correspondent <a href="https://torontosun.com/entertainment/television/ctv-jess-allen-apologize-for-the-social-remarks-after-don-cherry-firing">Jessica Allen</a> on <em>The Social</em>, a Canadian daytime talk show, about white boys, privilege and hockey struck another nerve. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/allen-cherry-hockey-apology-1.5361608">As reported on CBC, Allen said</a>: she doesn’t “worship at the altar of hockey” and found in her experience that those who did “all tended to be white boys who weren’t, let’s say, very nice.” She added: “They were not generally thoughtful, they were often bullies.” </p>
<p>Although Allen and her network heard from many fans who feel differently, the culture of violence in sport, on and off the field, is normalized, accepted and expected. What is hockey without checking? What is football without concussions? What are locker rooms without posturing? It is part of a culture among boys and men who seamlessly participate in sports, performing familiar scripts of masculinity that seemingly offer few alternatives. </p>
<p>Similar to how Donald Trump justified his predatory comments about women <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2016/10/09/trump-that-was-locker-room-talk.html">as just “locker room talk,”</a> sport culture is often excused as just “boys being boys,” a kind of <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/trumps-locker-room-is-his-safe-space">safe space</a> where masculinity is unquestioned.</p>
<p>Attempts to disrupt, interrogate or challenge normative masculinity, and especially sporty masculinity, has been met by outrage by those who cannot see nor hear the tribalism and male privilege of masculinized spaces like <a href="https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/21189">locker rooms</a>.</p>
<p>The recent football violence NFL player Myles Garrett inflicted upon Mason Rudolph when ripping off his helmet and attempting to assault him provoked less debate and more consensus on the gravity of the assault. Garret’s violent actions punctuate his career in a way that will now define him. Initial attempts to justify his actions as “a win is a win” fell silent.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/11/15/myles-garrett-is-suspended-indefinitely-by-nfl/">Garrett later apologized</a> and was held accountable for his actions. He crossed a line, a shared understanding in a culture of violence in sport that was one step too far. The narrative disturbs what was understood to be the rules of engagement. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/11/15/nfl-is-sanctioned-violence-myles-garrett-still-violated-its-codes/"><em>Washington Post</em> sports writer Adam Kilgore</a> describes a “gladiatorial agreement,” as an “understood agreement” among players. </p>
<p>Similarly, boys and men enter into relationships, sports, locker rooms and other masculinized contexts knowing the rules and norms. Crossing that line, however, has consequences.</p>
<h2>The cost of not fitting in</h2>
<p>The price for coming out of the shadows is costly for those who refuse to adhere to normative masculinity, who resist just being one of the boys, who choose to transgress, who resist participating in the locker room banter, the talk of conquests, the parading of masculinity both figuratively and metaphorically. Think Colin Kaepernick. He took a knee <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/sports/colin-kaepernick-nfl-protests.html">and protested</a> and refused to be silent. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302242/original/file-20191118-66957-lbxgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302242/original/file-20191118-66957-lbxgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302242/original/file-20191118-66957-lbxgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302242/original/file-20191118-66957-lbxgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302242/original/file-20191118-66957-lbxgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302242/original/file-20191118-66957-lbxgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302242/original/file-20191118-66957-lbxgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Free agent Colin Kaepernick participates in a workout for NFL football scouts and media on Nov. 16, 2019, in Riverdale, Ga.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Todd Kirkland)</span></span>
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<p>Boys and men are routinely called out for not being like the rest of the boys. Membership has its privileges. Sport can unify, but it can also divide. If you don’t play the game, adhere to the rules on and off the field, you will know it. That is what marginalized masculinity looks like. When white sporty masculinity gets called out, we all hear it and many continue to try to defend it.</p>
<p>Be it normative masculinity, racism, homophobia or misogyny, the lines that delineate being among the boys and one of the boys are clear. Don Cherry was “<a href="https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1878473">disappointed</a>” by Ron MacLean’s apology. <a href="https://theconversation.com/ron-maclean-evades-the-real-problem-of-don-cherrys-you-people-remarks-127107">Cherry felt MacLean “threw him under the bus.”</a> </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/protests-not-welcome-in-the-spectacle-of-sports-84817">Protests not welcome in the spectacle of sports</a>
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<p>The Cherry controversy has left many divided. Our complacency has allowed for, supports and indeed heralds “boys being boys.” But this is neither a just nor defensible reason for accepting the performance of masculinity going unquestioned. </p>
<p>The silence and the whisper culture among boys who are voiceless, marginalized and othered is the result of many boys and men not speaking out. For a brief moment we saw complicit masculinity in Ron MacLean, unable and unwilling to speak out. The Don Cherry-Ron MacLean moment showcases a powerful lesson of sporty masculinity with its privilege and <a href="http://theconversation.com/don-cherry-debacle-highlights-the-whiteness-of-hockey-126972">whiteness</a> to say what it likes, when it likes, and to own the spaces it has historically dominated.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ron-maclean-evades-the-real-problem-of-don-cherrys-you-people-remarks-127107">Ron MacLean evades the real problem of Don Cherry's 'you people' remarks</a>
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<h2>Sport’s changing landscape</h2>
<p>The landscape in sport and among men and boys is changing. The tensions for knowing what the rules are is unmistakable. Sporty masculinity has remained privileged, has been allowed to parade, to take up space of dominance, privilege and unquestioned rights. The woe-is-me rhetoric that has recently captured our attention has caught some by surprise and left them defending shaky ground that was assumed rights in the past. </p>
<p>Why now? What’s changed? Was that not just Don Cherry being Don? The short answer is: a lot has changed.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302245/original/file-20191118-66917-186i24s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302245/original/file-20191118-66917-186i24s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302245/original/file-20191118-66917-186i24s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302245/original/file-20191118-66917-186i24s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302245/original/file-20191118-66917-186i24s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302245/original/file-20191118-66917-186i24s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302245/original/file-20191118-66917-186i24s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A lot has changed since Ron MacLean (left) sat beside Don Cherry as Rogers TV unveiled their team for the station’s NHL coverage in Toronto on March 10, 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
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<p>Racism, sexism, misogyny and homophobia are no longer acceptable, excused as “boys being boys.” Sport is changing. Racist slurs, violent transgressions and homophobic insults are no longer normalized as just the way it is. </p>
<p>Sport, the context in which <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/childs-play/9780813571454">athletes come to be known and to be defined</a>, is no longer predicated along outdated rules or codes that were routinely accepted without question. For some, the agency to resist, to push back, to refuse to be silent and to speak out when marginalized is gradually getting stronger. </p>
<p>Among the first football players to kneel during the pregame U.S. national anthem in protest against killings of Black people by police, Colin Kaepernick has been unable to find a team to sign him since 2017. But his <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/17/us/colin-kaepernick-kunta-kinte-meaning-trnd/index.html">NFL workout this weekend in Atlanta</a> signalled a possible change.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.espn.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=buccigross_john&id=4685761">Brendan Burke,</a> the son of the general manager of a major hockey league team, who came out as gay to the hockey world in 2009, reminds us of the power of voice. Sport is just one space that has seen movement and change both on and off the field.</p>
<p>It is not uncommon for me to experience people questioning, denouncing or marginalizing my <a href="https://werklund.ucalgary.ca/masculinities">masculinities research</a>: this is evidence of the ongoing uncertainty some men feel when defending arguments of masculinity and suggesting we need to toughen up, don’t be a snowflake, get over it. </p>
<p>If there is anything we can count on, it’s the need that many men and boys feel to defend a particular kind of masculinity. That has yet to change, because to do otherwise is to acknowledge the fragility, the vulnerability and the fear that keeps many men among the boys and remaining “one of the boys.” </p>
<p>Apologizing for getting it wrong, for saying the wrong thing, for racist, homophobic, sexist remarks is a step too far for them, because it is an acknowledgement that men know the culture of masculinity is rife with rigid and damaging rules and codes that too many are simply unwilling to transgress.</p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127286/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Kehler receives funding from the Silver Gummy Foundation. </span></em></p>Attempts to disrupt or challenge normative, sporty masculinity has been met by outrage by those who cannot see nor hear the tribalism and male privilege of masculinized spaces like locker rooms.Michael Kehler, Werklund Research Professor, Masculinities Studies, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1269722019-11-13T21:54:03Z2019-11-13T21:54:03ZDon Cherry debacle highlights the whiteness of hockey<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301658/original/file-20191113-77363-1v3femg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C107%2C3994%2C2467&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Youngsters play pond hockey in Ottawa on Christmas Day 2018.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite Canada’s claim that it’s a multicultural country, that’s not the reality of one of the country’s national sports, ice hockey. </p>
<p>For over a century, hockey has been dominated by white people at professional and amateur levels in Canada. One of the major reasons this continues to be the case is racialized people have been faced with discrimination and racism when attempting to play or watch hockey. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301645/original/file-20191113-77320-ehf9kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301645/original/file-20191113-77320-ehf9kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301645/original/file-20191113-77320-ehf9kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301645/original/file-20191113-77320-ehf9kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301645/original/file-20191113-77320-ehf9kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301645/original/file-20191113-77320-ehf9kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301645/original/file-20191113-77320-ehf9kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301645/original/file-20191113-77320-ehf9kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cherry was fired after his Coach’s Corner slur suggesting immigrants don’t honour Remembrance Day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Don Cherry’s recent <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/don-cherry-hnic-you-people-hockey-coachs-corner">divisive and discriminatory comments</a> about “you people” remind us of the connections between hockey and race. A groundswell of negative public reaction to his comments also provides hope for change. Now is the time to make the sport more inclusive, as implied by the NHL slogan “<a href="https://www.nhl.com/community/hockey-is-for-everyone">Hockey is for Everyone</a>.”</p>
<h2>History of race and hockey</h2>
<p>Historically, racialized people were not allowed to participate in the dominant amateur hockey leagues. As a result, Black communities in the Maritimes created the <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/coloured-hockey-league">Coloured Hockey League</a> (CHL) which existed from 1895 until the league couldn’t sustain itself by the 1930s.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301637/original/file-20191113-77295-flcclt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301637/original/file-20191113-77295-flcclt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301637/original/file-20191113-77295-flcclt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301637/original/file-20191113-77295-flcclt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301637/original/file-20191113-77295-flcclt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301637/original/file-20191113-77295-flcclt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301637/original/file-20191113-77295-flcclt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301637/original/file-20191113-77295-flcclt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Larry Kwong in an undated photo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hockey Hall of Fame</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This league was groundbreaking — it pioneered the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/forgotten-maritime-hockey-league-new-documentary-1.4045084">slap shot and the butterfly technique of goaltending</a>. But it’s likely most hockey fans aren’t aware these techniques were invented by Black players because these athletes were undervalued and dismissed due to their race. </p>
<p>Not only were players of colour segregated, they also faced racialized violence. The first racialized player in the National Hockey League was Larry Kwong, a Chinese-Canadian. Kwong described his groundbreaking experience <a href="https://thetyee.ca/News/2018/02/19/Larry-Kwong-NHL/">as very hostile</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Ever since I was a (teenager) there has always been a player or two trying to cut off my head just because I am Chinese. And the bigger the league, the bigger the axe they use.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The first Black player in the NHL was a Canadian named Willie O'Ree, who made his debut in 1958. He had to deal with <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/black-hockey-trailblazer-willie-o-ree-featured-in-new-hot-docs-film-1.4404330">racism from fans and other players</a>. This included racist comments towards him, unfair calls, unwarranted aggression from other players and having cotton and black cats thrown at him while playing.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/willie-orees-little-known-journey-to-break-the-nhls-color-barrier-90219">Willie O'Ree's little-known journey to break the NHL's color barrier</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The experiences of these pioneering players were universal for any racialized player in the league at the time. </p>
<h2>Have times changed?</h2>
<p>Seventy years since Larry Kwong made his debut, one would like to think the game is much more welcoming for racialized people. Although progress has certainly been made, hostility and racism persist. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301640/original/file-20191113-77338-14z5cvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301640/original/file-20191113-77338-14z5cvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301640/original/file-20191113-77338-14z5cvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301640/original/file-20191113-77338-14z5cvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301640/original/file-20191113-77338-14z5cvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301640/original/file-20191113-77338-14z5cvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301640/original/file-20191113-77338-14z5cvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301640/original/file-20191113-77338-14z5cvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Givani Smith, now with the Detroit Red Wings, fights with an Anaheim Ducks player during a recent NHL game.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When Givani Smith played for the Kitchener Rangers in 2018, he faced <a href="https://www.therecord.com/sports-story/8589574-racism-at-the-rink/">intense racism</a> from the opposing team and fans. He even received death threats and was subjected to a racist slur by a spectator who sneaked into the change room.</p>
<p>A First Nations hockey team of 13- and 14-year-olds <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/quebec-city-hockey-racism-1.4685720">endured racist</a> name-calling, mocking and unfair calls at a tournament in 2018. </p>
<p>Even more recently, a 23-year-old coach of youth hockey who is Muslim received an <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/youth-hockey-coach-speaks-out-after-receiving-racist-message-from-parent-172309751.html">angry text</a> from a white parent of one of the players he coaches. The language in the text message implied that hockey belongs to the white community and that people of colour are not welcomed and will tarnish the sport and its traditions.</p>
<h2>Canadian identity</h2>
<p>Hockey is strongly tied to the national identity of Canada. In 2011, 77 per cent of Canadians believed that hockey is an important <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-652-x/89-652-x2015005-eng.htm">national symbol</a>. It’s clear that Canada has a clear adoration of the sport. In 2014, former prime minister <a href="http://www.canada.com/sports/stephen+harper+seeks+home+advantage+canada+greatest+export+hockey/10368903/story.html">Stephen Harper</a> stated that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Modern hockey is something that Canadians not only invented but developed as a sport as a reflection of our values and of our country.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>If hockey truly is a reflection of our society, then it highlights the enduring Canadian problem of ignoring racism.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301633/original/file-20191113-77326-1dn0m7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C170%2C2318%2C1414&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301633/original/file-20191113-77326-1dn0m7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301633/original/file-20191113-77326-1dn0m7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301633/original/file-20191113-77326-1dn0m7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301633/original/file-20191113-77326-1dn0m7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=968&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301633/original/file-20191113-77326-1dn0m7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=968&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301633/original/file-20191113-77326-1dn0m7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=968&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Willie O'Ree, shown in this 1960 photo, was the first black player in the National Hockey League. He faced a litany of racist remarks and abuse throughout his hockey career.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When specific racial groups are purposefully excluded from Canada’s primary hockey narrative, it implies that only white people can fully embrace that Canadian identity. It implies that racialized people are not good enough to adopt it. </p>
<p>But with a growing racialized population, what it means to be Canadian is changing. </p>
<p>As indicated by Statistics Canada, Canada’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/census-2016-immigration-1.4368970">“visible minority” population</a> has been steadily increasing. It’s predicted that by 2036, a third of Canadians will be a part of this demographic.</p>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>Racism has had a hold on western society for centuries and it doesn’t look like it’s going to change any time soon. In terms of ice hockey, there first needs to be an acknowledgement of racial disparity in order for progress to begin. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/where-are-the-minorities-1.835849">Data based on race</a> also need to be recorded and reported at all levels of amateur hockey to track the progress of change initiatives. </p>
<p>Leagues also need to advocate change. <a href="http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=undalr">The Australia Football League (AFL)</a>, to name just one example, deals with racism and religious discrimination by implementing strong policies that fight against a racist culture and sets fines for offenders. </p>
<p>The league also requires offenders to attend racism education programs. Education programs are one of the most effective ways to eliminate racism in sport. </p>
<p>Not only will addressing racial inequality help hockey grow, as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/where-are-the-minorities-1.835849">Hockey Canada has stated</a>, it will also foster a healthy and just environment for everyone to thrive. It’s time to make hockey truly for everyone. </p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126972/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Snelgrove receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victoria Kabetu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Don Cherry’s recent divisive and discriminatory comments remind us of how white hockey remains. It’s time to transform the sport into a more inclusive pastime.Ryan Snelgrove, Professor of Sport Management, University of WaterlooVictoria Kabetu, Master of Arts Candidate, University of WaterlooLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1260862019-10-31T23:10:31Z2019-10-31T23:10:31ZWhat really causes home field advantage – and why it’s on the decline<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299730/original/file-20191031-187903-14hpp2o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C68%2C2497%2C1603&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Washington Nationals celebrate their World Series win in front of fans of the Houston Astros.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-World-Series-Nationals-Astros-Baseball/b182d8db09ae4c2faf5a7352906bbc83/10/0">AP Photo/Matt Slocum</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Never before has the away team won every single game in the World Series, but <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/30/sports/baseball/world-series-home-teams.html">that’s exactly what happened</a> this year.</p>
<p>When the Washington Nationals won Game 7 in Houston to clinch the series against the Houston Astros, it marked the seventh straight road team win, which begs the question: What ever happened to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/donyaeger/2019/10/29/no-place-like-home-the-houston-astros-washington-nationals-and-when-home-field-advantage-might-hurt-more-than-it-helps/#454da59d769d">home field advantage</a>?</p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=mVj8o7gAAAAJ&hl=en">professor of computing and information</a>, and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0168716">my own</a> research – <a href="https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.aoas/1542078053">as well as other research</a> – clearly supports the presence of an edge that comes from playing at home.</p>
<p>But what causes the home field advantage? The answer remains unclear, but several hypotheses have been proposed. While <a href="https://theconversation.com/data-reveals-the-value-of-an-assist-in-basketball-113893">my focus is on the NBA</a>, these arguments can apply to other sports, including baseball. Having said that, <a href="https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.aoas/1542078053">baseball is the sport where the home field advantage is the least pronounced</a> among the four most popular sports in the U.S.</p>
<h2>The crowd has nothing to do with it</h2>
<p>Many sports fans believe that <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/soundscapes/2015/11/21/noise-exposure-in-sports-studying-how-noise-affects-fans-players-and-personnel-in-stadium-settings/">crowd noise has a direct impact</a> on player performance. </p>
<p>While no one can ever be sure what’s going on in a player’s head when the opposing team’s fans get loud, the data show that players aren’t <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/201130/scorecasting-by-tobias-j-moskowitz-and-l-jon-wertheim/">particularly fazed by boos during an away game</a>.</p>
<p>I analyzed both home and away free-throw shooting of all the players for the NBA’s 2018-19 season. Free throws provide a controlled setting that isolates the home crowd as the only externality potentially affecting the shot.</p>
<p>The results indicated there is no evidence that players perform differently on free throws whether they’re at home or playing away. </p>
<p>In a similar argument for the NFL, the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/1/22/7871519/seattle-seahawks-12th-man-super-bowl-patriots">common perception is that a loud crowd will make it more difficult for visiting players</a> to hear the play that’s called, and this will lead to confusion and delayed reactions from players.</p>
<p>But if crowd noise really did have this effect, you’d expect more false start penalties to be called on the visiting team. This <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-nfls-home-field-advantage-is-real-but-why/">does not happen</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299562/original/file-20191030-165458-1blw711.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299562/original/file-20191030-165458-1blw711.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299562/original/file-20191030-165458-1blw711.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299562/original/file-20191030-165458-1blw711.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299562/original/file-20191030-165458-1blw711.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299562/original/file-20191030-165458-1blw711.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299562/original/file-20191030-165458-1blw711.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The crowds didn’t affect basketball players in the author’s study, but referee bias did.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Albion-Michigan-St-Basketball/2599b58e61f04095a61938ef4708f917/5/0">AP Photo/Carlos Osorio</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Referee bias and traveling</h2>
<p>While the crowd appears to have no or very little effect on players’ performance, that might not be the case for the referees.</p>
<p>Several compelling data points support the hypothesis that <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/201130/scorecasting-by-tobias-j-moskowitz-and-l-jon-wertheim/">a large portion of the home edge is due to officiating bias</a> in favor of the home team in the form of subjective calls.</p>
<p>For example, in basketball, the number of fouls charged to a team – and consequently the number of free throws awarded – are subject to referee bias. I analyzed the data from the 2018-19 NBA season and found that the home team is awarded on average approximately 0.8 more free throws, or 0.6 points per game.</p>
<p>Given that the home court advantage in the NBA was approximately 2.7 points last year, these extra shots from the charity line account for approximately 22% of the home edge. Other subjective violations, such as traveling, also <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691154589/mathletics">break in favor of the home team</a>, with visiting teams being whistled for about half a violation more each game. This is essentially one-half less possession, which is worth approximately another 0.6 points, explaining another sizable part of the home edge.</p>
<p>The same holds true for other sports. In soccer, referees add more stoppage time when the home team trails by a goal compared with when the home team is ahead by a goal. Interestingly, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1465-7295.2007.00112.x">referee bias in soccer is reduced</a> when there is a track field separating the pitch and the fans.</p>
<p>In baseball, during a full count, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/201130/scorecasting-by-tobias-j-moskowitz-and-l-jon-wertheim/">more pitches are called strikes for the home team’s pitcher</a>.</p>
<p>In the NHL, referees call <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691154589/mathletics">20% fewer penalties for home teams, which is equivalent to about 0.25 goals</a>.</p>
<p>Another plausible hypothesis for explaining home field advantage – one supported by several studies – involves travel. In particular, <a href="http://www-stat.wharton.upenn.edu/%7Edsmall/nba_rest_submitted.pdf">studies have shown</a> that traveling, back-to-back scheduling of games and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/114/16/E3168">jet lag</a> are associated with reduced performance.</p>
<p>Some teams also seem to benefit by playing in regions that have <a href="https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/10/20/dolphins-view-heat-in-miami-as-an-advantage/">unique weather patterns</a> or altitudes. For example, Denver’s basketball team has the <a href="https://statsbylopez.netlify.com/post/playing-at-home/">most pronounced home field advantage in all of professional sports</a>. This is probably <a href="https://www.stack.com/a/denvers-edge-how-altitude-provides-their-teams-with-the-greatest-home-field-advantage-in-sports">due to the city’s high altitude</a> – 5,280 feet – which may cause visiting players to suffer from headaches, dizziness and other complications of altitude sickness.</p>
<h2>A declining advantage?</h2>
<p>Of course, these aren’t the only possible reasons for the presence of home field advantage.</p>
<p>The question remains open, but researchers do know that the home field edge has been slowly declining over the years.</p>
<p>Using a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGRZwJgCzWU">regression-based method</a>, I calculated the home edge in terms of points in the NBA during the past 15 years. The declining trend potentially can be attributed to changes in officiating, more comfortable travel and advances in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/oct/26/sleep-nba-effects-basketball">understanding the body’s circadian rhythm that can lead to more educated travel preparation</a>.</p>
<p>After the NFL introduced instant-replay review of close plays, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/201130/scorecasting-by-tobias-j-moskowitz-and-l-jon-wertheim/">the home team’s winning percentage dropped from 58.5% to 56%</a>. This may indicate that prior to the adoption of instant-replay reviews, officials awarded more close calls to the home team. </p>
<p>Last week, <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2019/10/29/controversial-overturned-call-in-mavs-blazers-shows-coachs-challenge-is-a-work-in-progress-with-an-obvious-flaw/">the Portland Trail Blazers won in Dallas, beating the Mavericks due to a new rule</a> allowing coaches to challenge referee decisions. Portland challenged – and managed to overturn – a foul called five seconds before the end of the game that most probably would have given the win to the home team.</p>
<p>While home field advantage still matters, it’s mattering less and less with every season – just ask the Houston Astros.</p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126086/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Konstantinos Pelechrinis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A data scholar explains why playing at home doesn’t provide the boost that it once did.Konstantinos Pelechrinis, Associate Professor of Computing and Information, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1181682019-06-04T22:19:48Z2019-06-04T22:19:48ZRaptors win! Does that mean basketball will replace hockey as Canada’s favourite sport?<p>The Toronto Raptors are the champions of the National Basketball Association — and by winning the title, Canada’s only NBA franchise has also captured the heart of a country always known as a nation of hockey fans.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong — I love hockey. My involvement in the sport has included scholar, critic, fan, coach and player. But I have to wonder what the Toronto Raptors’ NBA championship will mean to the great Canadian game. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/sports/basketball/toronto-basketball.html">Is this a transformational moment for both hockey and basketball?</a>
For a sport to become ingrained in Canadian nationalism, it must stir the collective imagination. </p>
<p>Hockey had Paul Henderson’s goal in the 1972 Summit Series.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lMf2fAXPS1Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Heritage Hockey HSC.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A great deal of <a href="https://bookstore.wolsakandwynn.ca/products/coming-down-the-mountain-rethinking-the-1972-summit-series">academic</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/ice-hockey">popular</a> work explores the glory of that moment. </p>
<p>But now basketball has Kawhi Leonard’s Game 7 buzzer-beater that put the Raptors into the semifinals. Leonard then led the team the rest of the way, earning the MVP award for the final series.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ojM9nVvigyA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">NBA.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Will Leonard’s heroics replace Henderson and become this generation’s magical sports moment? Will it become the stuff of Canadian sports lore?</p>
<p>In order to answer this question we need to explore how the sport imagination of a nation is created.</p>
<h2>Legends and origin</h2>
<p>First, popular notions of a sport are woven within the character of its legends. Henderson was born during a snowstorm and grew up in Kincardine, Ont., during the 1950s and ‘60s. </p>
<p>Leonard <a href="https://sportytell.com/basketball/kawhi-leonard-biography-facts-childhood-personal-life/">was born in sunny Los Angeles</a> and went to high school in Moreno Valley, Calif., an urban area that expanded rapidly from the 1980s to the 2000s. The contrast is stark — one is a prodigy from a rural community while the other is a star from an urban metropolis.</p>
<p>A sport’s imagination also relates to the origin of a sport and how its growth mirrors that of a nation. Hockey emerged from the <a href="http://omeka.tplcs.ca/virtual-exhibits/exhibits/show/sports-history/winter-sports">land of ice and snow</a>. It developed from a traditional to modern game during the same time that Canada evolved from a colony to a country of its own. </p>
<p>While basketball <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/james-naismith">was created by Canadian James Naismith</a> in 1891, it reflects a more contemporary Canadian era and has developed from a modern game into an entertainment spectacle. For basketball, “We the North” isn’t about a cold frontier — it’s about a bold and diverse nation.</p>
<h2>Magical moments</h2>
<p>A sport’s imagination is also based upon actual moments. The moments are shared through popular discussion and over time become mythical. Hockey has been lacking a lot of magical moments lately.</p>
<p>On the international stage, the most recent two examples are probably Sidney Crosby’s game-winning goal in the 2010 Winter Olympics or Marie-Philip Poulin’s overtime winner at the 2014 Olympics. In the professional game, it has been more than 25 years since a Canadian-based National Hockey League franchise won the Stanley Cup. The Montreal Canadiens took the championship in 1993. </p>
<p>But several special basketball moments have recently gained attention and inspired the country. On the women’s side, stories of the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton-grads-canadian-heritage-minute-1.4012248">Edmonton Grads</a>, Canada’s basketball dynasty during the 1920s and '30s, have re-emerged as current female players and teams take centre stage. The <a href="https://www.basketball.ca/files/2017-06/canada_basketball_annual_report_2016_17.pdf">women’s national team</a> played in front of massive crowds during the 2015 Pan-Am Games in Toronto and several high-performance athletes compete in North American and European leagues. </p>
<p>The recent success of Canadian men’s national basketball teams is extraordinary, <a href="https://theprovince.com/sports/basketball/canada-basketball-hopes-flood-of-talent-turns-tide-to-global-success">achieving podium results at international competitions</a>. For example, the under-19 team won the 2017 World Championship and a team of university players earned a silver medal at a 2018 Commonwealth Games tournament.</p>
<p>Many contend the <a href="https://www.basketball.ca/en/news-article/13-canadians-on-nba-rosters-as-season-begins-tonight">streak of Canadian players included in NBA drafts</a> — nine and counting — demonstrates the strength of talent in the country. When it comes to the professional sport industry, the Toronto Raptors reflect a legitimate <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5327576/toronto-entrepreneur-founder-raptors-john-bitove-basketball-canada/">National Basketball Association franchise</a> both as an off-the-court commercial enterprise and on-the-court contender.</p>
<h2>Social connection</h2>
<p>Finally, the strength of a sport’s imagination depends upon who, and how many, feel connected to the game. <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-we-the-north-is-no-longer-about-hockey/article29823570/">Some suggest</a> that hockey has become selective and elite. Fewer Canadians have direct experience playing the game as access and cost become barriers to participation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279483/original/file-20190614-158949-1gwrwjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279483/original/file-20190614-158949-1gwrwjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279483/original/file-20190614-158949-1gwrwjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279483/original/file-20190614-158949-1gwrwjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279483/original/file-20190614-158949-1gwrwjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279483/original/file-20190614-158949-1gwrwjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279483/original/file-20190614-158949-1gwrwjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Toronto Raptors fans react inside Jurassic Park, outside of the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, as they watch the Raptors defeat the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA Championship,</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this way, hockey is becoming more exclusive. <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/jsm.2014-0172">Some research</a> even suggests Canada’s elite player development may be falling behind those of other countries.</p>
<p>But as a sport that just requires a ball and doesn’t allow intentional body contact, basketball doesn’t face the same economic limitations or <a href="https://ir.stthomas.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=ocbeblpub">concussion risks</a> as hockey. As a result, it has emerged as a game with a strong bond across social groups, regardless of age, class or ethnicity. </p>
<p>Basketball’s profile among <a href="http://www.srgnet.com/2017/11/01/landmark-study-profiles-impact-of-newcomers-to-canada/">Canadian newcomers</a> ranks first as a personal favourite sport, whereas hockey ranks third.</p>
<p>The association between sport and the Canadian imagination is powerful. The Raptors’ playoff success has propelled basketball’s legends and lore to a level never before reached among Canadians. Now that the Raptors are NBA champions, will basketball now surpass hockey as Canada’s favourite game?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118168/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Stevens does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Toronto Raptors are NBA champions. The team’s success has propelled basketball’s lore to a level never before reached among Canadians. Will it surpass hockey as Canada’s favourite game?Julie Stevens, Associate Professor, Sport Management and Director, Centre for Sport Capacity, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1154192019-04-17T23:13:09Z2019-04-17T23:13:09ZHow an NHL street party caused a social media storm about racism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269682/original/file-20190416-147514-108hnwf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A local Winnipeg Jets tradition -- the Whiteout Street Party -- has been the source of controversy. Is it political correctness run amok or is the name insensitive to racialized people?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the city of Winnipeg was preparing to host a large celebration to mark the beginning of the National Hockey League playoffs for its team, the Jets, a storm broke out over social media over a headline about the hockey street party.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/whiteout-parties-storm-back-add-cover-charge-507949542.html">A story that described the preparations for the outdoor public celebration during the playoff game</a> in <em>the Winnipeg Free Press</em> included this headline: “Jets parties will turn downtown white again.” The original story ran with a photo of four men wearing all-white, hooded costumes. Both the headline and photo were later changed.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1112760546246512640"}"></div></p>
<p>Soon after, Black Space Winnipeg, an anti-racism advocacy group, tweeted a response to the article and posted a comment on its Facebook page. The group implied the words “white again,” along with the photo, would make racialized people feel unwelcome in the city. The group also suggested in a Facebook post the name of the playoff party (“Whiteout”) be changed.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Have a look at these photos from past Jets pandemonium/fan appreciation. The four men wearing all white Jets outfits with pointed hoodies … remind you of anything?” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>On Twitter the group wrote: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“This headline can carry a very different meaning depending on who’s reading it …”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1116020801369542656"}"></div></p>
<p>Many people reading the tweet from Black Space Winnipeg did not take the time to think about the original headline of the article before they hurled back angry, misinformed or racist replies. </p>
<p>Some examples: “Go back to playing basketball and leave hockey alone” and “its (sic) ok to be white,” a slogan made popular by white supremacist groups.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1116553226101379077"}"></div></p>
<p>I believe the angry tweets and Facebook comments can be classified into two main complaints: many people felt the term “whiteout” was never intended to be racist and that making that claim is political correctness run amok.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269684/original/file-20190416-147508-zme9ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269684/original/file-20190416-147508-zme9ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269684/original/file-20190416-147508-zme9ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269684/original/file-20190416-147508-zme9ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269684/original/file-20190416-147508-zme9ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269684/original/file-20190416-147508-zme9ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269684/original/file-20190416-147508-zme9ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269684/original/file-20190416-147508-zme9ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Winnipeg Jets’ fans get warmed up at the Whiteout Street Party prior to the second NHL playoff game against the St. Louis Blues on April 12.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Words and traditions change because our world is not static. We shouldn’t be afraid to institute change as we become aware of errors made in the past. Decisions made 30 or even 100 years ago have been challenged and changed. Sports have also changed. <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/usports/mcgill-drop-redmen-name/">McGill University recently dropped the name of its sports teams, the Redmen,</a> because as McGill University’s principal said, it is “widely acknowledged as an offensive term for Indigenous peoples, as evidenced by major English dictionaries…we cannot ignore this contemporary understanding.”</p>
<p>She said the name “is not one the university would choose today, and it is not one that McGill should carry forward.”</p>
<h2>Winnipeg pride</h2>
<p>Last year, the Jets won their first playoff series since the team returned to Winnipeg in 2011, making it all the way to the conference finals. This was a <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5117227/winnipegs-2019-whiteout-street-parties-to-officially-launch-monday/">big event for the city</a>. The parties attracted thousands of people to downtown Winnipeg. The crowds were loud and boisterous, but according to media reports, the atmosphere was friendly and a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-jets-whiteout-party-hockey-playoffs-1.5071689">good example of the city’s community spirit in action</a>. </p>
<p>For many Winnipegers, it was a positive image that helped to negate the often stereotypical images many Canadians have about their city as boring, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-jets-whiteout-party-hockey-playoffs-1.5071689">cold as Mars</a> (or <a href="https://packmeto.com/6-things-that-surprised-me-about-winnipeg/">hot and full of mosquitoes in summer</a>), or <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4634349/manitoba-top-dangerous-cities-report/">one of Canada’s most violent communities</a>.</p>
<p>“The whiteout” is a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/whiteout-black-space-winnipeg-1.5094772">nickname for Jets street parties originated three decades ago</a>. According to the CBC, the parties started as a response to the Calgary Flames’ “Sea of Red” during the 1987 playoffs. That was at a time when the Jets home colours were white, not blue as they now are, but the tradition has stuck. Although the Jets left Winnipeg in 1996, the “whiteout” resumed after the team’s return to the city in 2011.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269685/original/file-20190416-147511-3wpy8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269685/original/file-20190416-147511-3wpy8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269685/original/file-20190416-147511-3wpy8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269685/original/file-20190416-147511-3wpy8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269685/original/file-20190416-147511-3wpy8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269685/original/file-20190416-147511-3wpy8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/269685/original/file-20190416-147511-3wpy8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Winnipeg is one of many NHL cities where fans uniformly dress in their team colours during the playoffs. Here, white-clad Winnipeg Jets’ fans react towards St. Louis Blues centre Robert Thomas during NHL playoff action in Winnipeg on April 10.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the surface, the term “whiteout” seems fairly benign and aptly describes the scene. Photos of the event confirm that it is indeed a sea of white. It looks like a blizzard, a phenomenon that naturally occurs in Manitoba winters. </p>
<p>It’s the second explanation — political correctness run amok — that is the most worrisome. </p>
<h2>Concerns dismissed</h2>
<p>Many fans dismissed the concerns of Black Space Winnipeg and others, rather than considering why the headline might have been offensive.</p>
<p>I read some of the over 450 replies on Facebook and over 400 replies on Twitter. Many of the responses gave nonsensical responses that showed how little the reader understood the issue and how little they valued the conversation on racism in their city centre. </p>
<p>To demonstrate how ridiculous they thought the issue was, a few posters submitted ideas like having a white refrigerator makes them a racist.</p>
<p>But the headline, along with the photo of men in white hoods, can be interpreted as “only whites are welcome” message. The intention of the message may be innocent, but the way it is understood by the people will depend on their social location. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/welcome-to-winnipeg-where-canadas-racism-problem-is-at-its-worst/">In a city where racism often rears its ugly head</a>, it is understandable that the seemingly innocuous headline can be understood to be threatening — especially by people who experience discrimination.</p>
<p>Black Space Winnipeg and other social activist organizations are asking Canadians to have conversations about race and to think about how we use language and how the way we label things and visualize them can unintentionally include and exclude groups of people. </p>
<p>Our current social climate in Canada, and in Winnipeg, <a href="https://theconversation.com/dear-white-people-wake-up-canada-is-racist-83124">has given space to more explicit expressions of racism</a>, and therefore we — and our media outlets — need to think about the ways we use language and how that language may perpetuate bias.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115419/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lori Wilkinson receives funding from SSHRC and CIHR.</span></em></p>A celebration for the Winnipeg Jets turned controversial when an anti-racist group challenged a “make Winnipeg white again” headline about the city’s NHL playoff “whiteout” parties.Lori Wilkinson, Professor of Sociology, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1021602018-09-03T13:52:35Z2018-09-03T13:52:35ZOffside: The secret deals involving public money for sports stadiums<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234351/original/file-20180830-195316-zsresl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Edmonton's new NHL arena opened in 2016 and was partially funded by $226 million from the City of Edmonton.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The new hockey season is almost here. As training camps open and players return to the ice, another great sports tradition is back in full swing: the debate over whether professional teams should receive public funds to build new arenas and stadiums.</p>
<p>The Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators are the latest teams working on this power play.</p>
<p>The Flames want to replace <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-saddledome-nhl-arenas-1.4284445">the 35-year-old Saddledome</a>. Billionaire Murray Edwards, one of the wealthiest Canadians and the owner of the Flames, is <a href="https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/calgary-flames-owner-eyes-more-than-just-a-new-arena/article36521316/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&utm_medium=Referrer:+Social+Network+/+Media&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links">looking for public money for his team’s new home</a>.</p>
<p>The Senators want to move out of the Ottawa suburb of Kanata into a new downtown location. Billionaire Eugene Melnyk, the owner of the Senators, <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/melnyk-senators-staying-ottawa-long-time/">is not looking for public money for his new arena</a> but is still negotiating terms to build on federally owned land near the Canadian War Museum.</p>
<p>Both of these negotiations are taking place <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-s-new-world-class-arena-rogers-place-opens-its-doors-1.3753743">under the shadow of Edmonton’s new arena</a>. Opened in 2016, Rogers Place cost <a href="https://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_events/rogers_place/the-agreement.aspx">$483.5 million</a> to build. The Edmonton Oilers paid $132.5 million, the City of Edmonton kicked in $226 million through a combination of city funds and a new local property tax, and fans will hand over $125 million through a ticket tax. Edmonton’s arena has set a precedent in Canada.</p>
<h2>Poor investments for cities</h2>
<p>Using public money has been a feature of sports in the United States since the 1950s, even though economists are almost unanimous in finding that <a href="https://econjwatch.org/articles/do-economists-reach-a-conclusion-on-subsidies-for-sports-franchises-stadiums-and-mega-events">cities receive little economic benefit from stadiums</a>.</p>
<p>New jobs created by a stadium are part-time and low-wage, such as ushers or concession workers. Without a new stadium, construction <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/calgary-saddledome-arena-ken-king-naheed-nenshi/">workers would simply build other things</a>. Local businesses <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1527002516641168">might benefit a bit from a new stadium</a>, but it’s unclear. If cities are building stadiums to stimulate the economy, they would be better off having the <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/why-do-mayors-love-sports-stadiums/">mayor throw money out of a helicopter</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234352/original/file-20180830-195331-cwv92s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234352/original/file-20180830-195331-cwv92s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234352/original/file-20180830-195331-cwv92s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234352/original/file-20180830-195331-cwv92s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234352/original/file-20180830-195331-cwv92s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234352/original/file-20180830-195331-cwv92s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234352/original/file-20180830-195331-cwv92s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Calgary Flames are asking for public funding to build a new arena to replace the Saddledome, built in the 1980s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the gravy train won’t stop. Between 2005 and 2017, <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/jsm.2012-0210">39 stadiums in North America were approved</a> to be built with public subsidies. It seems that nothing will stop politicians from handing over public dollars to professional sports teams. The state of <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/detroit-billionaires-get-us450m-hockey-arena-as-city-suffers-under-bankruptcy">Michigan granted permission for Detroit to sell $450 million in bonds</a> to finance a new hockey arena only six days after Detroit claimed bankruptcy.</p>
<h2>Undemocratic deals</h2>
<p>Compounding the poor economic outcomes is the undemocratic nature of many stadium deals. Politicians are unlikely to risk the public vote on stadium funding. Instead, city councils vote on the deals that they negotiate with the teams.</p>
<p>These negotiations are increasingly being done behind closed doors.</p>
<p>A deal to build a new stadium for the Atlanta Braves in Cobb Country, Ga., wasn’t revealed to the public until after the fact. Team president John Schurerholz was <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/sports/mlb/atlanta-braves/braves-president-cobb-deal-had-to-be-kept-under-wraps/253151902">unapologetic for the secrecy</a>.</p>
<p>“If it had leaked out, this deal would not have gotten done…people would have started taking the position of ‘We don’t want that to happen. We want to see how viable this was going to be,’ ” said Schurerholz.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234353/original/file-20180830-195319-5gsbzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234353/original/file-20180830-195319-5gsbzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234353/original/file-20180830-195319-5gsbzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234353/original/file-20180830-195319-5gsbzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234353/original/file-20180830-195319-5gsbzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234353/original/file-20180830-195319-5gsbzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234353/original/file-20180830-195319-5gsbzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fireworks go off over SunTrust Park after the Atlanta Braves played their first game in the new stadium in 2017. More than $300 million in public funds went toward the stadium’s construction, but the public wasn’t told about the deal until after the fact.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/David Goldman)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When the Cobb County Board of Commissioners finally held a public hearing before approving over $300 million in subsidies, only 12 people were allowed to speak. Others who requested time to speak were <a href="http://www.myajc.com/news/cobb-approves-major-braves-stadium-agreements/VlgOPijPkz6hyKurCvZ9dL/#c4182e7d.3533006.73538">“escorted from the room.”</a></p>
<p>The removal of transparency and public participation is not just an American problem. The Calgary Flames recently said they would only resume negotiations for a new arena <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-city-council-arena-flames-1.4713493">if the media and public are not informed</a> until an agreement is reached.</p>
<p>Without public involvement, team owners only need to cozy up to city council, rather than make their pitch to hundreds of thousands of citizens. This situation increases the risk that a deal will not consider the benefit to the public, and also runs the risk of outright corruption.</p>
<p>What happens after the stadium is built, and promises about jobs and economic benefits aren’t kept by the team? Probably nothing. In Edmonton, promises to hire people from low-income neighbourhoods around the arena were only <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-s-rogers-place-community-benefits-don-t-stack-up-to-projects-in-other-cities-critics-1.3738014">partially kept</a>.</p>
<p>In Winnipeg, the province of Manitoba <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/auditor-general-investors-group-field-report-1.4767185">recently wrote off $118 million</a> owed on Investors Group Field, a new football stadium that opened in 2013. The former politicians involved in making that deal <a href="https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/silence-is-deafening-on-stadium-debt-489482241.html">have been silent</a>. That’s not unusual: once a team begins playing in a new stadium, it seems only the on-field performance matters anymore.</p>
<p>The lack of democracy, transparency and accountability matters for stadiums — and also for hosting major sporting events.</p>
<p>As Calgary works on <a href="http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Recreation/Pages/Calgary-2026-Olympic-bid/Olympics-Bid-2026.aspx">a bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics</a>, and Canada prepares to <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4271236/2026-fifa-world-cup-canada-venues-stadiums/">co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup</a>, more calls for building sporting infrastructure with public money will come.</p>
<p>While new stadiums and sport infrastructure can have some benefits — the 2010 Winter Olympics were <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouver-olympics-worth-the-7-billion-price-tag-study-says/article15036916/">considered a success</a> — the risk of a fiasco like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/jul/06/40-year-hangover-1976-olympic-games-broke-montreal-canada">Montréal’s billion-dollar deficit and a new “Big Owe”</a> is always lurking.</p>
<p>What can citizens do? They can demand that politicians and builders of stadiums be held accountable for the stadiums they build. They can demand that promises of community benefits are made concrete — and in writing. Construction and operation of a stadium should be overseen by an independent watchdog. Finally, there should be consequences for those who do not live up to their promises and who engage in corruption or other financial malfeasance.</p>
<p>As the old saying goes, you get rich by spending other people’s money. This won’t stop team owners and politicians from spending money on stadiums. But we can at least demand that these stadiums benefit the public whose money is being spent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102160/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Gauthier received funding from the Thompson Rivers University Internal Research Fund to support this research. </span></em></p>The Calgary Flames are the latest pro sports team asking for public funds for a new arena. Cities across North America help fund sports facilities, but with little transparency and accountabilityRyan Gauthier, Assistant Professor of Law, Thompson Rivers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/972302018-05-25T17:44:16Z2018-05-25T17:44:16ZHoping for a bullish stock market? Cheer for the Washington Capitals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220459/original/file-20180525-51102-tgvi6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Washington Capitals left wing Jakub Vrana jumps into the arms of Alex Ovechkin (8) after scoring the go-ahead goal during Game 5 in the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs. Cheer for the Caps this Stanley Cup final if you're hoping the stock market performs well.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Although no Canadian teams made it to the Stanley Cup finals this year, Canadians may still have an extra reason to tune in and watch closely on Monday night — and to cheer for the Washington Capitals.</p>
<p>Originally mentioned in the Canadian edition of the <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Essentials-Corporate-Finance-Stephen-Ross/dp/0070956553">Essentials of Corporate Finance textbook</a> in 2007, the Canadian stock market tends to perform much better in the year when an Eastern conference team lifts Lord Stanley’s Cup.</p>
<p>Specifically, starting from the <a href="https://www.sportingcharts.com/articles/nhl/detailed-history-of-nhl-expansion-and-realignment.aspx">1993-1994 NHL season</a> (when the names of conferences were changed to Eastern and Western to reflect their geographic locations), the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sp-tsx-composite-index.asp">S&P/TSX composite index</a> gained on average 11 per cent if an Eastern conference team won the Stanley Cup. In contrast, the Canadian stock market produced less than a quarter of that, 2.6 per cent to be exact, in the year when a Western conference team was victorious. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220462/original/file-20180525-117628-1sw05ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220462/original/file-20180525-117628-1sw05ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220462/original/file-20180525-117628-1sw05ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220462/original/file-20180525-117628-1sw05ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220462/original/file-20180525-117628-1sw05ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220462/original/file-20180525-117628-1sw05ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220462/original/file-20180525-117628-1sw05ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pittsburg Penguins captain Sidney Crosby parades the Stanley Cup in Halifax in August 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And in 10 times when an Eastern team won the Stanley Cup, the S&P/TSX composite index finished in the red for the year only twice.</p>
<p>Although not as distinct —hockey is still largely a Canadian game, after all — a similar relation seems to exist south of the border as well. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/djia.asp">Dow Jones industrial average index</a> increased on average by 13.7 per cent in the year when an Eastern conference team won, but produced only half of that when the Western conference prevailed.</p>
<h2>Super Bowl predictor</h2>
<p>The Stanley Cup is not alone in its apparent predictive powers. The famous <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lcarrel/2018/02/05/amid-market-meldown-super-bowl-predicts-bull-market/#789aef0a7b6f">Super Bowl predictor</a> suggests that a stock market will finish in a positive territory if the winner of the Super Bowl is from the original National Football League, and the market will be down for the year if the winning team is from the original American Football League. </p>
<p>While it was initially suggested by New York Times sportswriter <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/24/sports/leonard-koppett-79-writer-with-novel-approach-to-sports.html">Leonard Koppett</a> as a light-hearted way to forecast the U.S. stock market in 1972, the Super Bowl predictor has ended up doing a decent job in forecasting the performance of the Canadian stock market as well. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220464/original/file-20180525-51121-19w9ue4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220464/original/file-20180525-51121-19w9ue4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220464/original/file-20180525-51121-19w9ue4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220464/original/file-20180525-51121-19w9ue4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220464/original/file-20180525-51121-19w9ue4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220464/original/file-20180525-51121-19w9ue4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220464/original/file-20180525-51121-19w9ue4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Philadelphia Eagles’ Nick Foles holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the NFL Super Bowl 52 football game against the New England Patriots on Feb. 4, 2018. The Eagles won 41-33.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Out of 51 Super Bowls, it was correct 40 times for the U.S. stock market and 39 times for the Canadian stock market — a 76 per cent accuracy rate. The Super Bowl predictor was especially impressive for the first 31 matches, when it made 28 correct predictions out of 31 times — an accuracy rate any economist would envy.</p>
<h2>Hemline index</h2>
<p>Don’t believe indicators based on a lucky puck bounce or a Hail Mary pass are real? At least two stock market indicators rely on human preferences, such as women’s choices about the length of their skirts and hair.</p>
<p>Namely, <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2012-02-26/cnbc-hemline-length-economy/53227022/1">the hemline index</a>, proposed by Wharton School economist George Taylor in 1926, claims that long skirts are associated with down markets, while bare knees with rising stock market returns. </p>
<p>Indeed, during the 1920s when women began showing their knees, the stock market roared. In the booming 1980s when mini skirts ruled again, but prior to the October 1987 stock market crash, women’s fashion shifted to longer skirts.</p>
<h2>Haircut indicator</h2>
<p>While the popularity of jeans and pants among women has made the hemline index almost outdated, another indicator based on women’s fashion is still easily observable. Specifically, in 2008, Japan’s leading business daily Nikkei presented the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-hair/japanese-women-hairstyles-track-economy-ups-and-downs-idUST33173720080218">haircut indicator</a>, which predicts good economic times when women let their hair grow and a grim future if women start cropping their locks. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220466/original/file-20180525-51135-18d8kld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220466/original/file-20180525-51135-18d8kld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220466/original/file-20180525-51135-18d8kld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220466/original/file-20180525-51135-18d8kld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220466/original/file-20180525-51135-18d8kld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220466/original/file-20180525-51135-18d8kld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220466/original/file-20180525-51135-18d8kld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The pixie cut can foretell grim economic times?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unlike their sport counterparts, women’s fashion indicators can offer some rationale for their validity. As uncertainty about economy grows, women who are frequently in charge of family finances might go for no-fuss, shorter styles to save on hair-care products. </p>
<h2>Don’t bet the farm</h2>
<p>No matter what stock market predictor one believes in, investors should resist betting his or her farm on it.</p>
<p>The predictors are based on correlation, not causation, and on the assumption that history will repeat itself. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, this year’s Super Bowl winner, the Philadelphia Eagles, predicts a stock market’s gain for the year. Investors might feel even more confident about this year if Alexander Ovechkin and company provide another sign for the stock market’s advance. </p>
<p>Let’s go Caps!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97230/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ernest Biktimirov does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Stanley Cup winner has proven to be a weirdly accurate stock market predictor. That’s why we should cheer for the Washington Capitals this year.Ernest Biktimirov, Professor of Finance, Goodman School of Business, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/902192018-01-17T20:38:05Z2018-01-17T20:38:05ZWillie O'Ree’s little-known journey to break the NHL’s color barrier<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202329/original/file-20180117-53317-1tlifmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C3%2C2486%2C2542&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Boston Bruins forward Willie O'Ree warms up prior to a game against the New York Rangers in 1960.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-Sports-New-York-United-States-/8c2613e2a1e5da11af9f0014c2589dfb/3/0">AP Photo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Almost everybody knows about Jackie Robinson <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-state-wrought-with-racial-tension-jackie-robinson-suited-up-for-his-first-spring-training-game-55000">and the historic role he played integrating Major League Baseball</a>. But mention Willie O’Ree – who broke the NHL’s color barrier – and you’ll likely receive a blank look. </p>
<p>That may start to change. On Jan. 19, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/politics/willie-oree-congressional-gold-medal-house-nhl/index.html">passed a bill</a> awarding O'Ree a Congressional Gold Medal. A day earlier, the Boston Bruins <a href="https://www.nhl.com/bruins/community/willie">retired O'Ree’s number 22</a> on the 64th anniversary of the night the forward from New Brunswick, Canada became the first Black person to play in a National Hockey League game. </p>
<p>O’Ree had always known he possessed the talent to play in the NHL. A speedy skater with an intuitive feel for the game, he had played organized hockey since he was five years old and had scored 22 goals with 12 assists in his first professional season with Quebec. His big break came when the Bruins invited him to attend training camp before the start of the 1957-58 season. Although he failed to make the final cut, team officials were impressed enough by his overall performance to tell him he needed only “a little more seasoning” to reach the big time. </p>
<p>“They knew what I could do,” O’Ree <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=newBAAAACAAJ&dq=The+Autobiography+of+Willie+O%E2%80%99Ree:+Hockey%E2%80%99s+Black+Pioneer&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjx0tHsqN_YAhUCca0KHXSAAGUQ6AEIKTAA">later recalled</a> in his 2000 memoir, “The Autobiography of Willie O’Ree: Hockey’s Black Pioneer.”</p>
<p>Sure enough, that January, the Boston Bruins were short a roster player and called him up from their minor league club for a road contest against the Montreal Canadiens.</p>
<p>O’Ree could barely control his excitement. “I could see fans pointing, ‘There’s that black kid. He’s up with the Bruins,’” O’Ree wrote. </p>
<p>Despite his nervousness, he did nothing to embarrass himself during a rare 3-0 Boston shutout over their hated archrivals. “O’Ree is not only fast, but he’s a strong skater,” Montreal coach Frank Selke <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/1958/01/20/willie-ree-happy-bruins-gave-him-chance/zaAeb380OcyW1rT3DlGrUM/story.html">said after the game</a>. “He looks as if he could go all night.” </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘It was the greatest thrill of my life … I’ll always remember this day.’</span></figcaption>
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<p>O’Ree suited up for only one more game as a Bruin that season before returning to the minors. He was hardly crestfallen. “I’m just happy to get a chance up here, that’s about all I can say,” <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/1958/01/20/willie-ree-happy-bruins-gave-him-chance/zaAeb380OcyW1rT3DlGrUM/story.html">he told The Boston Globe</a>. </p>
<p>O’Ree returned to the Bruins in 1960-61 and notched four goals and 10 assists in 43 games. His first NHL goal – a game-winner against Montreal at the Boston Garden on New Year’s Day, 1961 – proved memorable. On a breakaway, a teammate fed him a perfect pass, which he deposited under the glove hand of Montreal goaltender Charlie Hodge. For his standout effort, O’Ree received a rousing standing ovation from the home crowd that lasted several minutes.</p>
<p>O’Ree wasn’t so well received at other NHL venues. At New York City’s venerable Madison Square Garden, for instance, fans showered him with racial insults before he even stepped onto the ice. In Chicago, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=newBAAAACAAJ&dq=The+Autobiography+of+Willie+O%E2%80%99Ree:+Hockey%E2%80%99s+Black+Pioneer&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjx0tHsqN_YAhUCca0KHXSAAGUQ6AEIKTAA">he was targeted for abuse</a> for bruising Blackhawks forward Eric “Elbows” Nesterenko. After calling O’Ree the n-word, Nesterenko took the butt-end of his stick and rammed it into O’Ree’s unsuspecting face. A broken nose and two missing front teeth later, O’Ree had had enough. He took his stick and smashed Nesterenko over the head with it. O’Ree’s teammates came rushing to his aid as both teams’ benches emptied. What followed was a classic hockey donnybrook that ended with O’Ree being sent to the Bruins locker room for medical treatment.</p>
<p>“Every time I went on the ice I was faced with racial slurs because of my color,” <a href="http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/03/18/willie-oree-first-black-nhl-player-boston/">O’Ree admitted</a> to the Anti-Defamation League Youth Congress gathering held in Boston in 2016. “I had black cats thrown on the ice and [people] told me to [go] back to the cotton fields and pick cotton.” O’Ree claimed he didn’t mind. “I didn’t let it hurt me,” he said. “I let it go in one ear and out the other.”</p>
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<span class="caption">Willie O'Ree, the first Black player in the NHL, is honored before a game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Tampa Bay Lightning in January 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Lightning-Kings-Hockey/8342b6e6c388475a8bfc1f22224ad3aa/18/0">AP Photo/Alex Gallardo</a></span>
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<p>O’Ree’s dream of hockey glory was almost cut tragically short. While playing in a junior league game in Guelph, Ontario, as a 20-year-old, he lost sight in most of his right eye after a deflected slap shot struck his face. Ignoring his doctor’s advice to hang up his skates, O’Ree continued to play despite being at an obvious competitive disadvantage. </p>
<p>“I was a left shot, and I was playing left wing, but I had no right eye,” O’Ree <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=newBAAAACAAJ&dq=The+Autobiography+of+Willie+O%E2%80%99Ree:+Hockey%E2%80%99s+Black+Pioneer&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjx0tHsqN_YAhUCca0KHXSAAGUQ6AEIKTAA">explained</a>. He didn’t want others to know of his handicap, lest it scare teams away from employing him. “It was my secret,” he said.</p>
<p>The Bruins traded O’Ree to the Canadiens before the start of the 1961-62 season. O’Ree was personally devastated. Montreal was an elite team coming off a string of Stanley Cup championships and had no room for O’Ree on their roster. As a result, O’Ree spent the remainder of his career playing on a series of minor league clubs, including the Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League. He was a major standout for Los Angeles, scoring a career-high 38 goals in 1964-65. But the NHL never gave him a second look. </p>
<p>O’Ree did, however, serve as an inspiration to future NHL players of color like Jarome Iginla and Mike Grier. </p>
<p>“I’m in awe knowing what he went through,” Iginla <a href="https://archive.li/alQBx">told USA Today in 2008</a>. “There is a lot of trash-talking going on [in the game], and I can’t imagine what he must have gone through.”</p>
<p>For his part, O’Ree has voiced few regrets. He did, after all, defy the odds. And he’ll forever be known as the “Jackie Robinson of hockey.”</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article first published on Jan. 17, 2018. The spelling of Mike Grier’s name has been corrected, along with the name of the medal being awarded to O'Ree.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90219/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas J. Whalen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A debilitating eye injury and racial epithets weren’t enough to derail O'Ree’s resolve, which is now getting overdue recognition.Thomas J. Whalen, Associate Professor of Social Sciences, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.