Among the gestures seen during the NHL restart are players kneeling during the national anthemsGETTY IMAGES
The NHL has "begun a high-profile effort to make anti-racism part of its identity," according to Morgan Campbell of the N.Y. TIMES. NHL Senior Exec VP/Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs Kim Davis said that it is "part of a strategy to appeal to a younger, more racially diverse audience." Davis said she wants “people to understand that doing the right thing is also right for the business.” Campbell writes that has "meant scenes and gestures at games once thought unthinkable," including a number of players who have "demonstrated during anthems." Davis acknowledged that the protest movement in the U.S. "made the league’s anti-racism action more urgent," but she emphasized that she has been "helping the league develop a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy since she was hired" in November '17. Campbell notes the NHL "remains the only major North American sports league not to volunteer for an audit by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport." Davis pointed to pregame demonstrations and the "roughly 140 players who have posted on social media in support of the league’s anti-racism message" as "proof that the sport’s culture can change." Davis: “It’s our responsibility to set the tone for the sport regarding racism. A measure of our success is going to be the continued activism of our players” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/10).
