Living in the 21st Century, people have become more “socially aware” of human rights and frowned upon racism. After all, the Founding Fathers wrote in the United States Declaration of Independence,\u00a0\u201cWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.\u201d Meaning that anyone and everyone – no matter race, creed, sex, sexual\u00a0orientation or anything else that can distinguish\u00a0a person from another – has the right to succeed and has the right to be treated equally in anything they may do anywhere they may do it. Which is why there is no room for racism in hockey.<\/p>\n
Hockey fans like to think of the NHL as an inclusive place. The NHL has many different players from many different backgrounds helping to enrichen the history of a legendary league that has played host to some of society’s more appalling\u00a0moments. The NHL has started a campaign called “Hockey is For Everyone<\/a>“. Encouraging all people to get involved in the game. Not to mention, including social change.<\/p>\n As Don Cherry<\/strong> likes to say, “Hockey players are some of the classiest people you’ll ever meet!” Love or hate him, Grapes is right on this one! Hockey players love teammates no matter who they are! In fact, hockey players will go to battle for their teammates when someone tries to challenge that! And that is why hockey is such a special sport. In the many years, I have spent around the game, I have seen first-hand the comradeship that players have with their teammates. That is why hockey is the best sport in the world! That is why parents spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to send their kids to summer hockey camps. And that is why many people will continue\u00a0to play the game for years to come!<\/p>\n Yes, the NHL did have a colour barrier at one time. Then Willie O’Ree<\/strong> came into the game and that all changed. Of course, there were haters and as our society started to become open and shift away from the ridiculous Jim Crow Laws that created an unnecessary divide across the nation for no good reason, people started to get their ducks in a line and shift away from their racist ways. Our society has been blessed to have such influential leaders as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leaders that have come out and said that we as a society need to change our ways. For the most part, the majority of society has listened.<\/p>\n Two Smith-Pelly GIFs. First, you can see him hear someone say something to him, and he looks over at them. pic.twitter.com\/LvwUgFl7AL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Evan Sporer (@ev_sporer) February 18, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe NHL’s Past Faults<\/h3>\n
The Devante Smith-Pelly<\/a> Incident<\/h2>\n
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