The month of February represents a time in the sport of hockey that raises awareness for its #HockeyIsForEveryone campaign.
On Saturday night in Chicago, we were reminded why initiatives like these even exist in the year of 2018.
Four fans were ejected out of the United Center after footage showed Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly yelling at a man sitting right next to the Capitals penalty box.
After a fight with Blackhawks defenceman Connor Murphy, Smith-Pelley grabbed his stick and started pointing at a fan and began tapping on the glass to get the usher’s attention. An NHL official sitting between the two penalty boxes notified security at the arena of what was going on.
According to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, the group of Caucasian fans insinuated that Smith-Pelly, who’s one of the few black players in the NHL, should be playing basketball instead of the hockey.
After the game, Capitals coach Barry Trotz made it very clear that “there’s absolutely no place in this game of hockey, or our country for racism.”
The Blackhawks released a statement following the game.
Early this week, Smith-Pelly joked around with a heckler and squirted water through the glass at him while he was in the penalty box.
The incident between the ‘Hawks fans and Smith-Pelly came two days after the Blackhawks celebrated their Hockey is for Everyone night.
On Sunday morning, the NHL released a statement of their own regarding the incident.
February is also black history month.
(H/T Isabelle Khurshudyan)
