Racism in hockey feature

DGRollins · Apr 5, 2007

I posted on the main board looking for advice on this article last week. At that time, I said that I would post the final product here as well.

I'm 95 per cent done. It will be published next Tuesday. Any suggestions are welcome. I'm not fully happy with it yet. I'm still hopeful that the kid will talk; so far he is reluctant.

Normally, driving home from a hockey game is a chance for Denis Commando to catch up with his son Theorem. An energetic and athletic boy, Theorem is usually a chatterbox during his and Denis' long drives back to their West Nipissing home.
"He'd want to talk about the game," Denis said. "Everything about it. We'd usually talk about everything."
However, the drive back from Theorem’s March 20 game against a North Bay team was different. On that day, instead of the sound of an excited teenager filling the air, there was silence.
Denis says he wasn't talking that day because he was too angry. He suspects that Theorem was too sad.
Both father and son were responding to an incident that occurred about midway through the third period of the game. It wasn't something that would have been obvious to most of the people watching the game. Actually, only a select few people were likely aware that anything had happened at all.
What happened was this: Theorem and the opposing goaltender became involved in a discussion. The North Bay player became angry and responded by directing a racial slur at Theorem.
He called him a "bush nigger," referring to Theorem’s Aboriginal heritage. It was the second time this season that Theorem’s team, which has five Aboriginal players, had experienced racism while playing the North Bay team.
In many ways, Denis says that he shouldn't be surprised that these incidents took place. After all, being called a wagon burner, or worse, was a nightly experience for him when he played junior hockey in the '70s. Back then, he dealt with the slurs the way that you would expect a junior hockey player in the '70s to do so--with his fists.
However, he says that the times have changed. Or, at least they should have.
"I thought we evolved, you know," he said. "I don't think we should have to deal with that type of thing anymore. It discourages the kids."
Not isolated
Incidents like the Commandas experienced aren’t isolated to Northern Ontario. In March, several Six Nations players and fans say they had to deal with similar things during two separate playoff series with the Eastern Ontario town of Cambellford.
During the Ontario Minor Hockey Association all-Ontario midget CC semi-final, the Six Nations players say they were subjected to racial slurs from fans located immediately above the player’s bench. Six Nations players say they had beer poured on them from the crowd while the slurs were being shouted.
In a video of the game taken by a Six Nations fan, there is clear evidence of a young man pulling a silver can from his pants while standing above the Six Nations bench. However, you cannot understand what the fans are saying in the video.
Players and fans of the Six Nations bantam team say they had a similar experience during their OMHA final series with Cambellford.
And while covering the final game of that series, I witnessed behaviour of some Cambellford fans that was, if not racist, then certainly distrustful of Six Nations’ people.
Unaware of my affiliation with an Aboriginal publication, a Cambellford fan approached me prior to the game to offer a bit of advice.
â€œWatch yourself,â€ the women dressed in the Cambellford team colours of black and gold said. â€œThey will spit in your (food) from above.
â€œBe careful,â€ she added ominously.
Later, while shooting photographs in the penalty box, I heard a penalized Cambellford player say, â€œStupid Indians. I fucking hate them.â€
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continued

DGRollins · Apr 5, 2007

Not a new thing
It's not a new thing, of course. Aboriginals have dealt with racial slurs for as long as they have playing hockey. The unspoken code amongst Native players is that there are two acceptable ways to deal with it--beat 'em on the scoreboard, or just beat 'em up.
"It's a white man's game," former Boston Bruins tough-guy Stan Jonathan, a Six Nations-native, said. "They would call me a wahoo and a wagon burner and all sorts of things. You just have to learn to take care of yourself if you want to be successful."
Taking care of himself was something that Jonathan never had difficulty with. In just over six full NHL seasons, he spent the equivalent of 12 and a half games in the penalty box. He added 91 goals, including 27 in 1977-78, but it was his toughness that Jonathan was best known for.
In that he was typical of Aboriginal players. Although there have been exceptions, the normal way a Native player makes it to the NHL is with his fists. There is a long history of Aboriginal enforcers in the NHL, from Jonathan to Bob Probert to current-day players like Jonathan Tootoo and Chris Simon.
That toughness is a source of pride amongst many Native hockey fans and players. And it speaks to an overall code of behaviour that has ruled hockey for generations.

If you are wronged, you take care of it yourself, the code says. You do not look for outsiders to fight you battles. Outsiders are not to be trusted.
Click to expand...

DGRollins · Apr 5, 2007

â€œDon’t want to hear it.â€

A cheerful voice answered the phone when I called the head office of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association March 30.

"Good morning, NOHA. How can I help you?"

"I'm calling from an Aboriginal publication in Southern Ontario. I have a letter that was," I said before the voice cut me off.

"I know what you are calling about and I don't want to hear anymore," it says, more serious now. "I'll take your name and number and pass it on."

"I don't want to hear anymore." It was a common response to my requests.

Three calls to Hockey Canada—none returned.

Calls to several minor hockey officials throughout the province—none returned.

A call to the coach of the player involved in the act of racism directed towards Theorem Commanda—not returned.

Additionally, no one from Cambellford was willing to talk. Actually, the town’s minor hockey vice president, Fred Todd, indicated that it was the position of the organization that the OMHA would speak for them.

â€œI have nothing to say,â€ he said in March. â€œTalk to the president of the OMHA. What he says is our position.â€

And the NOHA never did get back to me.

Ace says the reluctance to talk should be expected. Canadians, whether they are involved in hockey or not, have a tendency to view themselves as â€œnice,â€ he says. And nice people don’t make racial slurs.

â€œThey don’t want to deal with it,â€ Ace said. â€œBut, they need to. I want to make sure that they do.â€

OMHA executive director Richard Ropchan was the only hockey official to respond to a request to be interviewed. He indicated that the OMHA did not typically get involved in specific hockey games or series. However, the game officials do have the authority to call a game if they feel that the players’ safety is in jeopardy.

Local officials can also step in if things become problematic, Ropchan said.

In the Cambellford, Six Nations midget series the OMHA took the â€œunusualâ€ step of sending an observer to the games, Ropchan said. He said that the observer â€œwas happyâ€ with what he saw during the series.

â€œBoth teams and fans appeared to get along,â€ he said.

When asked if the OMHA had ever considered requiring racial sensitivity training for its members, Ropchan seemed to be taken aback. It appeared that it was something that he had not considered before.

â€œWe don’t really have anything like that,â€ he said.

It should be about the game

Ultimately, that’s the type of thing that Denis would like to see. Having played hockey at a high level, he says he understands that sometimes emotions get the better of people. However, if they have a better understanding of where someone is coming from, it’s less likely that they will cross a line, he suggests.

â€œWe just want a chance to talk to the (North Bay) team,â€ he said. â€œWe want to teach them a bit about our culture.â€

The North Bay player that made the slur was asked by his coach to apologize to Theorem after the incident. He did so, and, although Denis says that he is happy that he did, he suggests that it isn’t nearly enough.

â€œThe longer it went, the angrier I got,â€ he says. â€œThe more I wanted to fight it.â€

In a formal complaint to the NOHA, Denis has asked that the player make a written apology and that the coach, managers, trainers and players of the North Bay team, as well as representatives of the NOHA, have an Aboriginal speaker address them. The speaker would talk about the value of multiethnic cultures and about how destructive racial slurs can be.

Denis also asked that the North Bay player be monitored moving forward.

As someone that loves the game, Denis says it would be the right move for the NOHA to make.

â€œThese kids were picked for the team based on their skills and abilities as hockey players,â€ he said. â€œAt no time did their racial background come into play. That’s the way it should be.â€

Denis made the complaint to the NOHA on March 21. He’s still waiting to hear back.
Click to expand...

friend of the friendless · Apr 6, 2007

Mr Rollins,

(I'm presuming that it's Mr. but correct me if needed)

You're on to an excellent story, truly. I do feel like you back into it, however.

Your existing lead marked up ...

Normally, driving home from a hockey game is a chance for Denis Commando to catch up with his son Theorem. An energetic and athletic boy, Theorem is usually a chatterbox during his and Denis' long drives back to their West Nipissing home. Could you get ut down to a sentence?
"He'd want to talk about the game," Denis said. "Everything about it. We'd usually talk about everything." Doesn't really add anything. Could be covered in the first sentence.
However, the drive back from Theorem’s March 20 game against a North Bay team was different. On that day, instead of the sound of an excited teenager filling the air, there was silence. No need to first say it's different. Just tell me that he didn't say a word. One sentence.
Denis says he wasn't talking that day because he was too angry. He suspects that Theorem was too sad.
Both father and son were responding to an incident that occurred about midway through the third period of the game. It wasn't something that would have been obvious to most of the people watching the game. Actually, only a select few people were likely aware that anything had happened at all. Father angry, son sad, not by a win or a loss, but something that happened in the game, something that most people missed. Tighten, tighten, tighten.

The sooner you get to the racial slur, the better.

Make some sort of bridge between the fact that few at the rink heard it and nobody at Hockey Canada wants to hear about it.

You have the stuff of a very good (and important) story.

YHS, etc

friend of the friendless · Apr 6, 2007

Mr Rollins,

I do wonder if you lead in the right place. I wouldn't mind at all if you flipped your lead--start with the game, the slur, then show the emotional aftermath.

"Discussion" with goaltender is clunky.

YHS, etc

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Racism in hockey feature

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