A deep dive into the institutional racism and prejudice in the sport of hockey that persists across all levels—and how it will impact the future of the sport
While professional sports leagues claim to promote diversity and inclusivity, institutional racism remains apparent in all sports, but especially hockey. In Leveling the Ice, sportswriter Steven Sandor challenges the perception that hockey is open to everyone and the idea that the hockey establishment wants more inclusion and diversity.
Featuring interviews with NHL players of color like Darnell Nurse, Matt Dumba, Nazeem Kadri, Zach Whitecloud, Ethan Bear, Jason Robertson, Sandor reveals their stories of exclusion to highlight the deeply ingrained racism in the sport. The players share insights into the racism they faced while they built their careers as well as the racism they still face today from the hockey establishment.
From hockey’s racist past to the ongoing reluctance of the hockey establishment to embrace grassroots diversity initiatives, Sandor delves into how members of communities of color (who only make up 5% of the NHL) are being driven away from the sport to more inclusive ones like soccer and basketball, despite the NHL’s expansion to new markets and demographics with billion-dollar TV deals. Comprehensive and timely, Leveling the Ice grapples with how the institutional racism in hockey will directly affect the future of the sport.
“From the nineteenth-century birth of the Colored Hockey League to the NHL’s well-intentioned but clumsy efforts to remake its problematic racial legacy, Leveling the Ice chronicles both the history and current consequences of hockey’s race problem. The ‘culture of hockey’ Sandor describes is troubling but vital to understanding the modern game, its place in both sports and the broader culture, and the barriers that exist for those beyond the bounds of racial gatekeeping who play, want to play, or watch. Anyone who cares about hockey, or about the phenomenon of race in sport more broadly, absolutely must read this book.”
—Thomas Aiello, author of White Ice: Race and the Making of Atlanta Hockey
“Instead of handing down buzzwords from an ivory tower, Steven Sandor takes us on the ice and inside the locker room, revealing stories that range from the obscure to the Hockey Hall of Fame. He isn’t scared to turn the lens on his own inherent biases as a member of the established media. Necessary reading for anyone who cares about the future of the sport.”
—Greg Oliver, Society for International Hockey Research