Using a relevant case study involving a particular individual or sport discuss how assumptions about ‘blackness’ have an impact on sport?

Case Study: Assumptions about ‘Blackness’ in the Sport of Ice Hockey

“It was important to see black players in the NHL to see it was possible and keep my dream alive.”

-          Jerome Iginla, captain of the Calgary Flames

Case studies about individual athletes involving the likes of Muhammad Ali in boxing, Michael Jordan in basketball and Tiger Woods in golf have certainly been discussed in the field of media studies, therefore in this essay I have chosen to concentrate on a particular sport that perhaps does not appear in the wider academic discussions about ‘race’ in sports: African-American ice hockey players in the National Hockey League (NHL). Having lived in Britain for the past three years where sport culture is dominated mainly by football and rugby, I have observed that ice hockey is left unnoticed almost entirely. It is also clear to acknowledge that ice hockey as a worldwide sport is quite marginal, but in countries such as Canada, Finland, Sweden and Russia – just to name a few – the sport is a major part of each country’s national identity. However, before moving into my case study certain terms must be clarified in order for a better understanding of my arguments to be achieved. Highly ambiguous terms such as ‘race’ and ‘blackness’ will be the focus of the first half of this paper prior to my discussions about the power  of the Western media itself. A substantial amount of research has been done about ‘race’ in media discourse, therefore my work will reference some of the key arguments provided by scholars such as David Mason, John Solomos and Les Back. The purpose of this paper is to argue that along with the colour of a person’s skin come certain assumptions and stereotypes that though false, are often perceived as truths.

Firstly, it is important to note that amongst human beings there are no such things as ‘races’. ‘Race’ is merely an ideological construct invented at a time when the dominance of white Europeans aimed to justify the cruelties against native peoples around the world for the sake of capital. Solomos and Back note that,

It is certainly from the eighteenth century that we can trace the emergence in Europe of writings about race and what we now call racism. The idea that races existed involved the affirmation in popular, scientific and political discourses that humanity could be divided into distinct groupings whose member possessed common physical characteristics” (1996: 32).

Furthermore James Donald and Ali Rattansi argue that “no persuasive empirical case has been made for ascribing common psychological, intellectual or moral capacities or characteristics to individuals on the basis of skin colour or physiognomy” (1992: 1). However, despite no clear data has ever proven for there to be biological differences between varied ethnicities, through the existence of racism different connotations of colour have brought along certain stereotypes through representation. In David Mason’s Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Mason observes the writings of American historian Winthrop Jordan who explains that the first encounters that the British had with West Africans came with peaceful results, but developed popular emotional and negative connotations of colour through the Victorian English language (Jordan 1974 in Mason 2000: 5-6). He writes, “while ‘white’ represented good, purity, and virginity, ‘black’ was the colour of death, evil, debasement (ibid.). While it is fair to say that modern day society has certainly progressed in terms of equality, the unfortunate truth is that still today, despite a lack of scientific evidence, many stereotypes regarding the ‘natural’ (fixed) superiority and inferiority based on biology still exist. Arguments surrounding blacks as physiologically more superior also assert claims in accordance to the “Law of Compensation”, whereas whites therefore must be intellectually superior. Plec argues that, “one particularly problematic variation on the theme of Black athletic superiority relies upon a racist logic of inversion in which mental and physical acuity are juxtaposed” (12).   

The second thing to call into question when discussing the issue of ‘race’ is the role that the Western media plays in representation. It is important to stress ‘Western’ when talking about the mainstream media because it is precisely through this geopolitical concept that representation is controlled. Stuart Hall argues that through power differentials come what he describes as a ‘regime of representation’ (1997: 259). “Power, it seems, has to be understood here, not only in terms of economic exploitation and physical coercion, but also in broader cultural or symbolic terms, including the power to represent someone or something in a certain way” (ibid.) ‘West’ therefore functions as the norm and aims to separate itself from the ‘East’, the ‘Orient’ and the ‘Other’. Edward Said argues that contrasting ‘West’ from ‘East’ allows for the existence of difference. In Orientalism he writes,

The Orient is not only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe’s greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of the Other. In addition, the Orient has helped to define Europe (or the West) as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience. ¹

      Hall in addition argues that representational practices often involve stereotyping, which “reduces people to a few, simple, essential characteristics, which are represented as fixed by Nature” (1997: 257). In sport for instance, stereotypes often involve categorizing athletes according to skin colour; blacks are faster runners, whites are better swimmers, et cetera. As stereotypes have been in many cases perceived as truths, ‘‘race’ science’ in sports on many occasions has strived to prove biological differences between white and black athletes. An example of this can be found from the writings of Martin Kane in the January 1971 Sports Illustrated issue entitled “An Assessment of Black is Best”. Kane went on to argue the following:

Researchers have found that the black American, on the average, tends to have a shorter trunk, a more slender pelvis, longer arms (especially forearms) and longer legs (especially from the knees down) than his white counterpart. He has more muscle in the upper arms and legs, less in the calves. There is reason to believe that his fat distribution is patterned differently from that of the white man—leaner extremities but not much difference in the trunk. And there is a trifle of evidence—this aspect has been studied so little that it still is in the highly speculative state—that the black man’s adrenal glands, a vital factor in many sports, are larger than the white man’s. (Kane 1971: 74 in Plec: 11).

However, many have been quick to dismiss such claims including sociologist Harry Edwards of Berkeley University, California who states that “there has never been a single study linking a genetic trait, racial or otherwise, with athletic performance” (Entine 2000: x). Moreover, sociologist Ellis Cashmore argues that after the discovery of the DNA double helix in 1953 by Francis Crick and James Watson, further research has indicated that “in terms of genetic profile, we humans have been found to be astonishingly similar: every human being on the planet was 99.9 percent the same” (Cashmore 2010: 30).

While the evidence above clearly evades from arguments supporting biological superiority of blacks, other considerations therefore have to be taken into account of why for instance there are more black players in the NBA and far the fewer in the NHL. A logical explanation that must be considered is the role of geographic, environmental and economic factors. While The United States has become more ethnically diverse and through diversity more tolerant, as of 2010 out of the 13.6 percent of blacks which make up America’s population, 27.4 percent were living under poverty (NPC). Out of black children under the age of 18, 38.2 percent were living under poverty. As ice hockey is an expensive sport due to the variety of equipment (not to mention the limited facilities); based on simple mathematics, the opportunities to excel in such a sport for a minority may seem quite unlikely. Robert Pankin explains, “the socioenvironmental side of the argument indicates that the alleged reason that large numbers of blacks play, and, subsequently, are successful in boxing, football, and the like is the availability of certain athletic facilities as they are growing up” (1982: 108). Furthermore Pankin notes that,

The majority of black and impoverished children, therefore, will participate in sporting events in which the initial and continued outlay of funds are comparable with their socioeconomic status. Tennis courts, swimming pools, and downhill slopes, hockey arenas, fencing strips, golf courses, and bowling alleys and their related equipment appear to be out of the ecological reach of the mass of black children (ibid.).           

   

Geographic factors can also be reasoned. Looking at a global scale, Kenyans are amongst the most successful long-distance runners in the world, if not the most successful. High altitude training camps for runners located in the Rift Valley allow for the development of a better lung capacity, thus increasing a runner’s stamina. The ideal geographic location along with the inexpensiveness of the sport can surely be justified to the successes of Kenyans.         

The previous factors can often be precursors for another notable reason: the lack of role models from similar backgrounds. The NHL was formed in 1916, but only in 1958 was the ‘all-white’ trend broken when Willie O’Ree joined the Boston Bruins to become the first ever black hockey player in the NHL. For over forty years the lack in black players was explained through simplistic assertions of biological racism, claiming that blacks “had weak ankles and weak knees” (Douglas 2011), as explained by O’Ree himself. But once O’Ree broke the stereotypes, slowly did more blacks begin to appear towards the end of the century. Mike Marson was the next African-American to be drafted in 1974 and by 1991 already 18 black players had appeared, including Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Grant Fuhr, who played for the famous Edmonton Oilers franchise of the ‘80s along with Wayne Gretzky, winning the Stanley Cup five times. Former NHL goaltender Kevin Weekes explains that “the more people see people that look like them on the ice, the more likely they are to want to play the game” (Douglas 2011). Certainly a factor to why O’Ree was the only black player to play in the NHL by 1971 was the fact that “Canadians made up over 95% of the NHL, and only .02% of all Canadians were black” (Morrison & Frantz). But as the sport has evolved, more Americans and Europeans have become a part of the league, and today “the United States, with a much higher black population than Canada, now contributes approximately 15% of all NHL players while Canada produces just over 60%” (ibid.). 

   Interestingly, NHL demographics are not measured by ethnicity, but by nationality, therefore the precise statistics about black players in the NHL are incredibly hard to get by. However, in the 2010-2011 season out of thirty organizations – of which are allowed fifty players under a professional contract – there were only 32 black players listed ². What furthermore has hardened the task of more black players arising is the replacing of the Atlanta Thrashers with the Winnipeg Jets in the current 2011-2012 season. Atlanta, Georgia which by demographics according to the 2010 census report has a total population of 5,2 million of which nearly 1,8 million are blacks also had the most black players on the Thrashers’ roster (five) in the previous season (Black Demographics). Manitoba, in which Winnipeg is located, on the other hand, out of a total population of 1,133,515 (according to the census report of 2006), only had a black population of 15,655 ³. It is therefore fair to say based on the previous statistics that in the future it is even less likely to see a changing trend in hockey ethnicity.           

To conclude, Stuart Hall states it well when he says that there seems to be an obsession with ‘difference’ and ‘otherness’ (1997: 225). Due to such a simple factor as the colour of a person’s skin have theories about intellectual superiority and inferiority been fabricated. Of course it must be noted that these fabrications are often products of dominant ideologies in the maintenance of social order. Though still today there are very few blacks in the NHL, it is far too simplistic to base this purely on “blackness”. As discussed, socio-economic and socio-environmental factors have to be taken into account. It comes to no surprise why for instance my native Finland is the current world champion in hockey as the climate conditions allow for the sport to be played outside during the winter. But an issue which I have yet to address is the debate around cultural differences being factors to sports success. Explaining cultural differences also seems too trivial, because after all cultures are “subject to constant change and are forever remade” (Carrington & McDonald 2001: 4). In short, as the world – and especially the United States – has become a multicultural Mecca, explaining sports due to cultural differences seems little to add up. Claims about food diet and religion also seem too far-fetched in my opinion, and therefore should be ignored altogether. Willie O’Ree as the first black NHL player broke the stereotypes of blacks’ biological limitations in hockey, which was certainly aided by the fact that he himself was raised within a hockey-crazed community in Fredericton, in the New Brunswick province in Canada (Harris 2003: 77). O’Ree was the exception to the rule; not only was he the first black player, but there were very few blacks living in Canada at the time altogether. But once O’Ree broke from the bonds of “blackness” as an obstacle, he proved to be a role model for more black hockey enthusiasts. ‘Race’ is merely an ideology, a distortion that only can be righted when challenging past stereotypes. The media may reinforce stereotypes but as players like Jerome Iginla, Dustin Byfuglien, Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Okposo continue to strive and the NHL continues its work in promoting diversity (through its Diversity Program, founded in 1995) among other things such as the Used Equipment Bank (for economically disadvantaged youths), “blackness” or “whiteness” will become irrelevant.                

Bibliography

Book Sources

Cashmore, E. (2010) Making Sense of Sports (Fifth Edition). Taylor & Francis.

Donald, J. & Rattansi, A. (1992) ‘Race’, Culture and Difference. London: Sage.

Entine, J. (2010) Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why we’re Afraid to Talk About it. Perseus Books Group.

Hall, S. (ed.) (1997) Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage.

Harris, C. (2003) Breaking the Ice: The Black Experience in Professional Hockey. Insomniac Press.

Johal, S. (2001) Playing their own game: A South Asian football experience in Carrington, B. and McDonald, I. (eds.) ‘Race’, Sport and British Society, Oxon: Routledge.

Mason, D. (2000) Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain (2^nd Edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pankin, R.M. (ed.) (1982) Social Approaches to Sport. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press.

Solomos, J. & Back, L. (1996) Racism and Society. London: McMillan.

Online Sources

¹ Orientalism: A Brief Definition,” Political Discourse—Theories of Colonialism and Postcolonialism. [Online] Available from: http://www.postcolonialweb.org/poldiscourse/pol11.html [Accessed 5th May, 2012]

² Thrashers Top NHL With Highest Percentage Of Black Players. [Online] Available from: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/sports/thrashers-top-nhl-with-highest-percentage-of-black/nFC2p/ [Accessed 5th May, 2012]

³ Ethnicity Series: A Demographic Portrait of Manitoba. [Online] Available from: http://www.gov.mb.ca/immigration/pdf/manitoba-immigration-ethnicity-series-3.pdf [Accessed 5th May, 2012]

Black Demographics http://www.blackdemographics.com/atlantablackdemographics.html [Accessed 5th May, 2012]

Douglas, W. (2011) Days of All-White Hockey Over, On Ice and in Booth. [Online] Available from: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/01/31/107773/days-of-all-white-hockey-over.html [Accessed 5th May, 2012]

Morrison, M. & Frantz, C. (2007) Icing the Stereotypes: Black Hockey Players in a Traditionally White Sport. [Online] Available from: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmhockey1.html [Accessed: 5th May, 2012]

National Poverty Center (NPC) http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/ [Accessed 5^th May, 2012]

Plec, E. The Great White Hype: Rhetoric and Racial Biology in Coverage of the 1968 Olympic Protest. [Online] Available from: http://wou.academia.edu/EmilyPlec/Papers/825943/The_Great_White_Hype_Rhetoric_and_Racial_Biology_in_Coverage_of_the_1968_Olympic_Protest [Accessed 5th May, 2012]