I’ve not revisited the Givani Smith story for two simple reasons: first, Smith’s family, through his agent, has asked for privacy in the matter, and second, I fear that Smith deals with racism in hockey on far, far more regular basis than we are led to believe.
I’d like to believe that we can do way better as a society and as individuals to really promote the concept that “Hockey Is For Everyone”; this morning, the New York Times’ Curtis Rush offers an article that causes significant concern regarding that hope:
For decades, black hockey players at all levels have experienced incidents of racial abuse. “A lot of players of color go through this,” Smith’s agent, G. P. Daniele, lamented. “It’s almost par for the course. It’s unfortunate.”
But the level of abuse directed at Smith so concerned the O.H.L. commissioner, David Branch, that he requested the police escort, a move he had not felt obligated to take before.
And in the aftermath, some members of the hockey community are calling for more to be done about racial harassment.
“I’ve lived in his shoes before,” said Kevin Weekes, 43, a black former N.H.L. goaltender and now a lead analyst at NHL Network who played in the O.H.L. in the 1990s. “It’s uncomfortable. It’s confusing.”
Smith received threats after he made an obscene gesture toward the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds’ bench after the Rangers’ overtime win in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on April 29.
“There were definitely physical threats,” Rangers General Manager Mike McKenzie said. “I saw some of the stuff that was being sent in, and it was threatening in nature, and you could perceive it as death threats if you wanted to, and obviously the racial stuff as well.”
Continued, and both Red Wings GM Ken Holland and director of player development Shawn Horcoff weigh in:
Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland said. “We support Givani. He’s a tremendous young man. We think he’s a really good prospect for us. He had a tremendous playoff. It’s about what you do on the ice. He’s a committed athlete, and we’re thrilled to have him in our organization. We’ve talked to him since the incident and made sure he understands we’re there to support him.”
This stuff. Shouldn’t happen. Period.
It’s not about the type of player, personality, actions on the ice.
No one asks for this. No one brings this upon themselves.
No excuses.
But it does. What matters is what we do about it. If any of you live near Sault Ste. Marie and attend Greyhound games please stop going. Do not support this team until they change.
America, and apparently Canada too, need to address racism. It’s not going to go away just because it’s 2018 and we are supposed to be better than this. We all need to change. We all need to be ready to sacrifice what we hold in the highest value to fight racism.
I am very disappointed in Smith’s white teammates for not jumping in and fighting anyone who acts racist to Smith. His white teammates needs to show they are supporting him no matter the cost. They should be standing in front of him rather then behind him just as we white fans need to step in front to take the full impact of racial injustice directed at any person of color.
George has opened a door for us white people to have a real discussion about our role in stopping racism. It would be sad if we did not take a moment to understand how we can be a real ally.
So boycott the Soo franchise, even though their coaches and players didn’t make any racist remarks or threats. But they had a couple of their fans crossed the line. How is the Soo supposed to stop that?
So if a stupid Wings fan goes on Subban’s Facebook and makes a racist death threat…then will you encourage everyone to boycott the Red Wings?
“So boycott the Soo franchise, even though their coaches and players didn’t make any racist remarks or threats.”
Yes. Boycotting the Greyhounds sends a message to ownership and fans to make changes. If they do not take care of their own problems then their hockey business does not make enough money to sustain itself.
So if a Red Wings fan makes a racist comment on Subban’s social media, they you would encourage everyone to boycott the Detroit Red Wings organization. To send a message to Illitch? What’s the message? Please control the social media activity of all of your fans around the world. OK then.
“So if a Red Wings fan makes a racist comment on Subban’s social media, they you would encourage everyone to boycott the Detroit Red Wings organization.”
Yes.
Any time you want to have a real conversation about race, I will be happy to do so, but these asinine “what ifs” are tedious.
Glad this article clarified some facts. The death threats happened after Givani flipped off the opponent. And came from some stupid fans on social media, as opposed to the opposing players or coaches.
Let me be clear. I’m not saying Smith is at fault. He’s had to put up with racist remarks at every level. Just like Subban and Simmonds and Tootoo and all the others. But some fans are stupid. He’ll need to learn how to cope with that. Maybe he can connect with Trevor Daley and learn of different coping methods. Because this will continue, again, because a small number of fans are stupid.
As for the death threats, it’s still unclear how serious this was. Claude Lemiuex had messages saying “you’re dead” . I imagine Brad Marchand has received some threats. Sean Avery. Kirk Maltby. I’m sure in the heat of the moment they’ve heard “I’m going to kill you. You’re dead next time” . But maybe this was a more specific or legit threat. If so, press charges against that fan!
“[Smith will] need to learn how to cope with that.”
“Maybe [Smith] can connect with Trevor Daley and learn of different coping methods.”
Sorry, Fatty but this is just wrong. Smith should not “just learn to cope”. While it is helpful for him to learn from the experience of others to endure for a moment ultimately he should not have this happen at all.
Asking a person of color to bare the burden of racism is not their responsibility and it shifts that responsibility away from you and me, white people, where it should actually be. When white people are racist it is up to other white people to make them change. People of color did not invent racism against themselves so the should not have to be the one’s to change or deal with it.
I like how you assumed I am white. Also like how you describe racism as a white problem directed to others, but never the other direction.
“I like how you assumed I am white.”
I know for sure now because you just said,
“Also like how you describe racism as a white problem directed to others, but never the other direction.”
Racism is not just prejudice, but prejudice with power. In our society, whites have the vast majority of power in institutions such as schools, courts, and corporations and maintenance of national narratives. Individual people of color may be biased against whites, just as whites may be biased against people of color. The difference is that white people have institutional power to consistently deny resources and rights to people of color impacting their life choices and life chances. People of color do not have similar power to use their bias that way.
Haha. I’m officially done with this topic. Not saying another word. You don’t know me. You assumed I was white. I pointed that out. And your comeback is you know for sure now that I’m white, because of what I’ve written. Hmm, maybe if you want to solve racism you could start by looking in the mirror.
For the record, I’m mixed race. My mother is white. My father is Asian. As for racism being a white problem only…tell that to my own Asian grandfather who never accepted that my dad married a white lady. He called her a lot of nasty names. Never gave her any gifts. When my older sister asked him once to help with homework he said she was dumb because her mom was a stupid white woman and that if my dad married an Asian she would have been better at school. An awful man. Who was racist toward Caucasians.
Sad that I actually have to share that. Maybe I should send you my photo or do a DNA test since you appear to be an expert on detecting race from a keyboard? So over this.
“Hmm, maybe if you want to solve racism you could start by looking in the mirror.”
I do this every day. Every day I make mistakes and I learn from them. Can you say the same?
“You don’t know me. You assumed I was white….For the record, I’m mixed race.”
I am sorry for misconstruing your privileged behavior as that of a white person. You should be very offended. Being called white is horrible in this context.
What I do not understand is your total lack of empathy for Smith. How is it that you have obvious experiences of hate and racism, get offended about their denial, vocalize that offense, yet, say you expect Smith to “cope”? Shouldn’t his voice matter as much as what you just displayed? You are not “coping” with my racist comment, why expect Smith to when faced with racism?
Again, I am sorry that I offended you. Please do not use that as an excuse to better understand how racism works.
“As for the death threats, it’s still unclear how serious this was.”
The seriousness does not matter. Threats were made because of Smith’s race when they should not have been made. That is why everyone should be taking this seriously.