Directed by Hubert Davis
Written by Darril Fosty
Stars P.K. Subban, Marcel Albers
R Rating
1 hour, 37 Minutes Running Time
Hockey is a predominantly white sport and most fans are white. In this day and age, diversity is something that the National Hockey League is trying to promote as a sport “for everyone” no matter one’s age, race, gender or sexual orientation – which is one of the reasons I hope more viewers see the documentary, BLACK ICE, directed by Hubert Davis.
As a true hockey fan and growing up in a newer generation, I recognize the flaws of the game: Not enough diversity. BLACK ICE – streaming on Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Hulu and others – can open viewers eyes to the racism that unfortunately still exists to this day as well as introducing them to black hockey history.
Players like Anthony Duclair, Sarah Nurse, P.K. Subban and Willie O’Ree and many more are featured talking about their love of the game and experiences that they have gone through. “I played because I loved the sport, and, still do,” said Willie O’Ree, who was the first black player in the National Hockey League in 1958. {Click here for more insight and info.}
Akim Aliu, a former NHL player documents his experiences when he was a young kid growing up in Toronto, Canada. Aliu, who was born to a Nigerian father and Ukrainian mother, moved with them to Canada as a young child. Financially playing hockey was very hard (hockey is the most expensive sports to play). {Click here for more background information.}
Aliu said he was young and getting started on his hockey career that he was always running into obstacles and challenges, such as, especially, because he was looking different than everyone else as well as speaking differently.
He always felt different and was regarded as an outsider. In November 2019, Aliu came forward public with allegation that his former coach, Bill Peters of the Rockford Ice Hogs (who are a part of the American Hockey League) used racist names against him. Aliu was one of the first to come forward publicly exposing the toxic side of hockey.
A Canadian former professional ice hockey player from Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is widely recognized for being the first Black player in the National Hockey League, playing as a winger for the Boston Bruins.
This behavior should not ever be tolerated, and because of Akim Aliu, more have felt comfortable coming forward about their experiences. With more people coming forward, more accountability and positive measures can happen. Racist behavior doesn’t just happen in professional sports, it happens in all sports from top to bottom.
In BLACK ICE, Mark Connors, a junior hockey player, talks about an incident in a PeeWee hockey game – PeeWee-ers are ages 11 to12 – when a player from the opposing team called him a racial slur. Connors recalls the incident shaking him up and most of all making him feel like he didn’t belong.
After the game, his coach spoke to the opposing team’s coach about the racist insult. The head coach was the dad of the opposing player who had insulted Connors; the coach was penalized with a 45-day suspension and an apology was ordered to be written. Yet, the opposing coach refused to write the apology.
Mark and his team went on to play that team six times, and every time that player refused to shake Mark’s hand or acknowledge him. But Mark, nevertheless, prevailed. {Check the following out the following.}
This documentary is very informative, eye opening and yet saddening. It is sad that racism persists and kids just trying to live out their dreams of playing hockey professional or not must be ready to face. I urge – and not just hockey fans– to watch BLACK ICE and learn about the importance of being a good person, treating everyone equally and supporting one another.
Shannon McGee, Film Reviewer & WORD Sports Editor. Picture by Coco Lin