Is racism rampant in the hockey world? Gianluca Nesci goes deeper into the controversial issue to find out.
Nicholas Baptiste of the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Sudbury Wolves is no stranger to racism on the ice. At only 16-years-old, the African-Canadian said he has already developed a “thick skin” in order to combat racism on the ice.
“When a guy stoops that low and he does something like that and you kind of ignore it and not even respond to it, chances are he’s not going to do it again because it didn’t really work,” Baptiste said. “So I just try and let my game do the talking.”
Baptiste was selected sixth overall by the Wolves in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection Draft. But the Ottawa native and former member of the Junior A Senators organization isn’t alone.
Three other black players joined the 6’0” right winger in the top 12 selections of the draft for the first time in league history.
Highly-touted defenceman Darnell Nurse was taken third overall by to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Jordan Subban, who is the younger brother of rising Montreal Canadiens star PK Subban, was next to go off the board, as he was picked by the Belleville Bulls with the fifth selection.
With the 12th pick overall, the Erie Otters drafted Burlington, Ont. native Stephen Harper.
Baptiste credits the players who have come before him with opening the door for young black players to get involved in the game. He said the likes of Jarome Iginla, Evander Kane and many others have proven that black players are equally capable of playing at a high level in a predominately white sport.
For Carleton Ravens women’s hockey coach Shelley Coolidge, the emergence of young, African-Canadian talent is a clear sign that “hockey is a sport for all.”
More importantly though, she said by opening the game to people of various ethnic backgrounds, we can learn a much more valuable lesson to take with us into everyday life.
“It doesn’t matter what walk of life people come from, it’s about respecting the person beside you, to treat the person beside you better than you want to be treated, and I think if everybody just followed that simple little golden rule, that we would all be in a better place and the world would be a better place,” she finished.
– With files from Maria Church
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