Hockey, Media, and the Ukraine Crisis
On the two very long weeks on Hockey Twitter
Author’s Note: Two things. 1) I am anti-imperialist and anti-war. Don’t even try me. 2) I want to make it abundantly clear that what I’m going to talk about today is not an analysis of a very complex and nuanced geopolitical situation. This is a newsletter about hockey though, so I’m going to talk about how this crisis has affected the sport.
If there’s one thing hockey is going to do is take a serious socio-political matter and make it as one-dimensional as possible. In the past two weeks, as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia continued to escalate, we saw different organizations within the sport come out and react to it. For those who’ve missed it, here are some highlights:
The Canadian Hockey League banned 16 and 17-year-old Russian and Belarusian prospects from their upcoming draft. Quite bold for an organization that was just forced to release a report on the severity of misconduct off-ice.
Daniel Wagner wrote a good overview on the issue
CCM cut ties with Alexander Ovechkin - a powerful supporter of Putin - and other Russian’s not named Alexander Ovechkin for some reason.
The NHL suspended its business dealings with the Kontinental Hockey League and ESPN announced they would not be showing the playoffs as planned.
All of these actions seem pointless to me. First of all, it’s a well-known fact that Russia has always wanted its superstars to stay in Russia. Putin has invested heavily in sports as a form of nation-building and reputation. Giving them the opportunity and power to keep players in their country is precisely what they would like.
It’s the reason Malkin’s journey to get to the NHL became a significant storyline in building the mythos of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Hockey is no stranger to xenophobia. For over 30 years, Don Cherry was allowed to go on a public broadcaster to share all of the racist, xenophobic, misogynist and homophobic thoughts that crossed his mind. It was only when his xenophobic rhetoric - one of his most common go-to tactics - became a trending topic online and an international embarrassment for the NHL that he was finally shown the door in 2019. The recentness of his firing showed just how deep bigotry runs in hockey. These long-held prejudices in the sport add some context to why it was so easy for many reporters to remind us of their true colors.
Last week, a reporter from a certain sports network in Canada blocked me after saying I didn’t expect him to be the one leading the xenophobic charge in hockey. Not gonna lie, I absolutely do not regret saying that. The beautiful thing about having developed critical thinking skills is that I can admire him as a very brave and skilled reporter who has pushed the sport to reveal ugly truths about itself, while also recognizing that he is also a person who can commit mistakes and act irresponsibly.
He, along with other reporters in the sport, have been sharing tweets and commentary on the crisis that, while not exactly misinformed, are quite sensationalist and do not offer anything of substance. For example, the tweet below shared the thoughts of Czech HHOF Goalie Dominik Hasek. While it was just the opinion of one man, sharing it not only amplified the tweet to an audience over four times bigger, it had an underlying current that made readers like myself uncomfortable.
What was the purpose of sharing this tweet? Most of us recognize that Russian players don’t have a say in the political climate of their country in the same way that I, as an American citizen, have very little control every time the US decides to “intervene” in the Global South. Am I learning anything other than Hasek is a man who clearly has no issue villainizing an entire community? I come from a marginalized community; why would I want that to happen to someone else?
The reality is that sharing this type of information serves no function other than re-fueling xenophobic sentiment. Calling it non-partisan journalism is also a stretch, as we’ve yet to see them touch on the more complicated topics including the treatment by the West of African refugees fleeing Ukraine, or the growing concern of extreme-right anti-semitic paramilitary forces in the country. If we seek to cover this issue - even through the lens of sport - it is irresponsible to frame such a complicated and devastating issue as a simple-two sided issue without various complex layers throughout it.
Reporters - who have actively used social media to advocate for change - have a responsibility bigger than most to ensure that their audience is getting a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the information being shared. Media literacy matters and by failing to address this issue appropriately, hockey media is doing a disservice to the fans.
As funny as it would be if I was suddenly like “keep politics out of sports!” it’s not about that at all. I think all NHL players - regardless of where they are from - are not scrutinized enough for their political opinions. Sports are a reflection of our society, no? I would have loved to have questioned Alexander Ovechkin or any other hockey player that graced the White House during the Trump Presidency (or really, any other presidency). The same presidency that showed the white-supremacist underbelly of this country, and saw the rise of new white-nationalist and fascist ideology. Maybe we could get the opinions of players every time Canada violates Indigenous sovereignty as they have in Wet'suwet'en. Or the treatment of Palestinian asylum seekers in Sweden. What does Freddie Andersen think of Denmark’s application of the jewelry law? Does YunggNate29 have opinions on the Mi'kmaq lobster dispute? What do Seth and Caleb Jones think of the persecution of trans youth in Texas, the state they were born in?
Ovechkin is a powerful figure in the sport, and his endorsements of both Putin and Trump should be scrutinized, but not only when hockey reporters are learning about global politics at the same time as us.
The demand for action from Russian players, and Russian players only, should also be of concern for anyone who wants better for the sport. If we fail to address and vocally condemn the xenophobia we’re seeing, we’re allowing one form of hate to replace another. We cannot talk about inclusivity and then cast an entire group of people as the bad guys. That’s like taking half a step forward only to take five steps back.
If we understand that change in the sport comes from a collective understanding of each other, we would have probably come a long way further.
What we’re getting right now is neither appropriate nor valuable.
It also begs the question, if these Russian players who wield tremendous amounts of white privilege are being treated this way, what does that mean for the rest of us who don’t?
Other Thoughts
(Honestly, sometimes I forget that hockey shit is happening, lmao.)
Just wanted to take the time and say thank you to the gals at The Broadcast! Perrye and I were on last week’s episode discussing the problems with hockey media when it comes to addressing racism. Topical!
The Dallas Stars had a Noche Mexicana honoring the Mexican and LatinX community in the area:
The @DallasStars are celebrating Noche Mexicana tonight by wearing these beautiful jerseys during warmups. 🌟 (📸: @DallasStars)
It was nice to see a team move away from Day of the Dead branding. As amazing as it is, Mexico is way too cool and diverse to be pigeonholed into one art style. I think they could have taken things up a notch and done something like the Phoenix Suns.
Jason Roberston scored back-to-back hat-tricks, the first to do so since Ovechkin. I need the fandom to assemble. *Slams fist on the table* Where are my fancams? My A03 pairings? The Stars haven’t been this exciting since that Steers and Queers tweet.
On Tuesday, Phil Kessel played one shift in the Coyotes-Wings game to extend his ironman streak before flying back for the birth of his child. Admirable? Cursed? We’ll Never Tell.
Shit I’m Obsessed With:
I’ve been into very niche TikTok content lately. I don’t always *understand* it, but I appreciate people’s commitment to it. Here’s a list in no particular order:
Finger Dancing - The rhythm? The commitment to the fits? 10/10. I would be bewildered by how this type of content is so popular, but I also spent like 20 minutes watching his videos, so.
TechnoTeam - This German fitness program took all the dance moves white people get made fun of and made them kinda cool? They post a bunch of Techno dancing tutorials in cool outfits, and their filming locations make me feel like I’m an extra on Blade(1998).
Caffeinication - I’m not really a coffee drinker but watching these videos makes me wish I was! There’s something so aesthetically pleasing about them creating the perfect cup of coffee, and my iron-deficient ass would love to know where they get those tiny, perfectly cubular ice cubes.
FitBod App: Feeling your body get stronger is so liberating. I decided to start lifting last summer to incorporate mindful movement in my life (instead of punishing myself with exercise). Many of the programs for beginners were intimidating because barbells are lowkey scary. I downloaded the app on a whim, and it worked out really well. The app will help you build a routine while modifying as you need it. You can choose the length of the workout, the type of equipment you have, the type of split (Upper/Lower, Pull/Push, Full Body, etc.), and set goals for how often you want to workout. I’m doing a modified GZCL routine and still using the app to track my workouts. Highly recommend it!
Macaws + The Parrot Wizard: Rescuing pets has been a thing in my family forever. Even way before it became the calling of well-off white women in the West. My aunts back home in Chile u officially run a shelter in our tiny town
in the South, and we’ve kept up with the tradition here in the States. Anyways, my uncle rescued a Macaw named Lalo a couple of years ago after finding out the poor guy was living in a tiny cage in a basement. Idk if y’all anything about Macaws, but they are Huge and also Super Smart. His quality of life significantly improved, but he’s still really adverse to people and getting out of his cage. It’s a very spacious cage, mind you, but smart birds aren’t meant to be in a cage all day long. I took care of him a couple of weeks ago and just completely fell in love. Positive reinforcement is the shit, so I started watching videos from Parrot Wizard, and we’ve come far! I’ve taught him how to perch so I can open the door and give him some cuddles, and without, you know, breaking my fingers.
This is also me saying that if you *really* want an exotic animal - make sure you a) really know what you’re getting into and b) see if you can adopt from a shelter instead. Not to sound like a PETA ad, but it’s really upsetting to think that such a great animal spent so much time in terrible conditions. I just want him to live his best birdie life :(
It has been a long week y’all! I went on a vacation that turned out to be Not Great last week, so I’m feeling like a bit menace and just as pale, stressed and depressed as before I left, lmao. However, the weather is getting better in the city and we’re still celebrating Perrye’s great issue! Hope y’all are doing well, and thanks for being here.
<3,
Gaby