NHL and black lives

When protests broke out nationwide over issues of race, many slammed the NHL for not pushing hard enough. The league pushed a new slogan, "We skate for black lives." They were reluctant to use the same words that I have already openly criticized.

A lot of people insisted that the NHL's problem is that it is the whitest of the major sports leagues. The makeup of the league supposedly reflects racism of the sport as a whole. While it would be nice to see more black players in the league, the racial makeup is a bit misleading. Last I checked, the NHL was about 15% American. While most teams play in the United States, most players come from less diverse nations. It's unfair to the league to compare its racial makeup to that of the U.S.

This brings up another issue. A lot of the criticism is that the players did not speak out enough against actions in the United States. Why should foreigners have the same expectations as Americans. It's even worse to demand foreigners who play in Canada to speak out against what's happening in the United States.

If I had an opportunity of a lifetime that took place in a foreign country, I can't imagine, as a foreigner, that I would tell locals what to think about what's going on in their country. Instead, I would likely try to defer to the people of that country.

Eventually, the league caved. They used the same words that others had demanded. When the Kraken entered the league, they didn't hesitate to promote the message. They even included a link to the website of the problematic organization built around the phrase.