Thursday Links, News and Notes: Racial Bias in Hockey and NHL Cutting Salaries

Plus an amazing initiative from the Black Girl Hockey Club, and more!

  • I’ve talked about the Black Girl Hockey Club a few times before on Silver Seven, and I’m going to boost them again today because they recently announced a scholarship program for Black girls, to subsidize the costs of playing hockey. It’s an amazing initiative from an amazing organization, and I’m going to leave a link in case anyone reading this knows of someone who could benefit from the program, and also as a reminder to donate to this organization so that they can continue to provide scholarships like this one! I am constantly in awe of everything BGHC does, and would strongly encourage anyone with the means to donate to do so, and do so regularly!
  • Prominent LGBTQIA+ activist Brock McGillis recently appeared on the Let’s Do That Hockey podcast to talk about Pride and Hockey Is For Everyone nights, and why they aren’t enough.
  • Yesterday, Hockey Graphs put out perhaps the best, most informative piece of hockey analysis I’ve read in a very long time: a piece called Racial Bias in Drafting and Development: The NHL’s Black Quarterback Problem. As the title suggests, the article is about racial bias in hockey, and specifically focuses on the more hidden, less overt ways in which it operates. I learned so much about racism, not just in hockey but in sport in general, from reading this. If you only click on one of the links I’m giving you today, let it be this one. Trust me.
  • Another podcast episode to listen to: The Common Sens Podcast recently put out an episode talking about the Sens’ rebrand.
  • ICYMI, The Washington Post recently published a report on sexual and verbal harassment of women by former employees of the Washington football team. Since then, many women across different sports have come forward to talk about their own experiences. I have to admit that it kind of feels to me like we’ve been having these discussions forever without making much progress, and it’s disheartening to see that trend continue, but I’m also extremely grateful to all the women who continue to come forward and talk about their experiences. Hopefully, we’re getting through to people.
  • As if the NHL’s Return to Play plan wasn’t enough of a mess already, apparently the league has cut salaries with no plan to restore them, despite the fact that their employees are now being asked to risk their lives for the league. It’s... not a good look./

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