📅 Published on: 2024-11-30 22:00:00
⏱ Duration: 00:22:26 (1346 seconds)
👀 Views: 1169 | 👍 Likes: 48
📝 Video Description:
In this episode, we celebrate individuals and organizations who are determined to diversify all facets of the sport; changing the face of the game as we know it.
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🎙 Channel: NHL
🌍 Channel Country: United States
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NHL,Hockey,ice hockey,ice hockey highlights,nhl highlights,hockey game,hockey games 2024,ice hockey highlights 2024,nhl hockey games 2024,nhl highlights today 2024,national hockey league,black hockey players,black hockey,black girl hockey,breaking down barriers,nhl unites,culture shift,sports culture,youth sports,diversity in sports,inclusion in sports
🕵️♂️ Transcript:
let’s go prior to this experience I’ve never had a black head coach in my career I would say the majority of my head coaches have been white middle-aged men and he said this is a big deal he said I I think I’m the only black head coach in North America and I forced it out of my mind because it it seemed so disgusting to me that his race would ever play into a decision to give somebody an opportunity to do a job that he earned and deserved like yeah we’re talking about hockey in general let’s just be honest like it’s bigger than the [Music] game all we can do is keep fighting and keep [Music] [Applause] pushing it’s time for a new era in sport one that honors the brave I stepped on the ice became the first black player to play and National Hockey League comes up over the M police line the Bold when he did decide to come out and make it public I think I could speak for all of us we were just so proud of them Herb started the first hockey school that included all kids the people that look different let’s go this is a series about individuals and organizations who are determined to redefine hockey culture and to inspire a new and diverse generation of hockey fans that’s what this Mill NHL does it brings us together 1 2 3 we’ve been talking about this day for years and so the fact that we’re here it’s pretty Monumental the past present and future women’s hockey meet right here my name is s tinker and this is breaking down barriers I told them get out there don’t worry about it come hang on the diesel no one’s going to hit you piss me off yeah how you feel got be okay to do this so good yep so when does that fully come off in public like around people like closer to 8 weeks does it hurt still or no not really like if I’m just sitting in it no yeah you’ll be right hang in there I got you right so we have we have backto back games against a team that’s right in front of us we’re chasing for up play Spot playing them tomorrow and Saturday this is the only year right now so far that’s it’s on the fence right now just based on it’s been one of those years where we’ve had injuries like crazy we’ve had call-ups like crazy lost a lot of players due to due to injuries due to recalls we going to Europe um so it’s been one of those weird years for for us you saw my captain is out there with season ending surgery luck hasn’t been much on our side this year with regarding injuries and stuff but might as well just you know put your head down and keep trying to get better and then work with what you have and and try to get the best of what you [Music] have well the journey was a long one I know there’s a big significance of what I’m doing I understand the impact it’s made and it is continuing to make and I want to continue to instill that message in everybody that we talk about hockey be for everyone but it’s not just hockey it’s everything management can be for everyone coaching can be for everyone training can be for everyone the sport is open for everyone you just got to dedicate yourself and commit yourself to it woo yeah you’re going to go right there right you are because what Griff is going to go there Griff’s going to go here so you start to encroach so you have this tap in that both right there but if they collapse then you’re right there right go in 2021 the Cincinnati Cyclones named Jason Payne head coach making him the only black head coach in professional hockey at the time and the first in ECHL history Payne was a Cyclones assistant from 2018 to 2021 following a 14-year minor league career as a forward and defenseman we had a ton of faith in him and it was pretty special to sit in my office and exchange signatures on his contract it was a really interesting feeling that I had never had before of I was so proud that that we were able to offer him this opportunity he said to me right after that and I think there were some tears honestly and he said this is a big deal we said I think I’m the only black head coach in North America and we looked at each other for a minute and I said no he said yeah so in the same moment that I had even more Pride that our organization signed him and gave him this opportunity I was equally almost instantaneously kind of sad I couldn’t wrap my head around that fact and then I think probably that night it started to resonate with me his age overall resume which I just took for granted because he’d been with us for so long got a why hasn’t this man had the opportunity to be the head coach for any other organization and I forced it out of my mind because it it seemed so disgusting to me that his race would ever play into a decision to give somebody an opportunity to do a job that he earned and deserved then your R to finish your R right and you want to release it we to on release release it’s only push has been easy transition no not really but it’s nothing to be as hard as it was as a player you know I I had a kid again when younger call me the NW I remember being kicked out of a game when some other players and I’m going to the dressing room and the way the the arena was built you have to walk through the hallway of the Arena to go to your dressing room they had a cordon off so he couldn’t get through but fans would run down to the barrier where it was locked off and they’d be screaming down hey pay you suck throwing the nword stick the basketball everything and my reaction back then was oh yeah and I was you just get enraged and at one point I ran I was going to go and drop kick the person pretty much and I felt somebody grabbed me from the back of my jersey and it was my trainer uh don brankley God Rest his soul and from London nights and he grabbed me and he pulled me and he threw me in the dressing room he goes don’t you ever let those people get to you don’t ever let them get to you now I’ve got to be professional I’ve got to conduct myself a certain way I can’t let the outside noise uh affect me there’s always going to be that that intolerance from a lot of people it may could be from people having a bad day in the in the stands to linesmen or referees maybe at at some point is not giving you the time of day it’s something that we have to deal with every day it’s unfortunate but it is it’s an unfortunate circumstance that we’re all put in but all we can do is keep fighting and keep pushing these are just parts of my journey I guess that want talk that you know Made Me Stronger and and built me to who I am uh today to be honest with you it was sad to witness some of theu stuff that he had to go through but it was also incredible to witness the resilience and how he tuned it out he blocked it out he didn’t let anybody interfere in his Focus he carries a lot on his shoulders for everything he’s had he’s grinded for everything he’s had he was so determined his goals and dreams he chased them three let’s go that way let’s go hurry up let’s go I grew up in Toronto my mother took me to learn to skate at uh I was about 4 years old at St Mike’s Arena the coach who I had the skating coach learned Escape he was a black guy and that was actually one of the first things I ever saw that was definitely uh you know interesting to see that I was a goalie when I was younger you started minor hockey you’re goalie and I used to go to triy outs all the time and hopping the old TTC bus was in Toronto with all my my goalie gear and all my hockey bags lugging it from rink to rink and uh I mean I remember my mother she worked two jobs and what she do is when she come home from the from work she’d drop her bag grab something to eat and then we’d be back out the door Jumping On The Bus heading out to wherever it is a try out or some form of skate so I grew up with my mother as her as her only child and those evenings were very very long and busy that’s for sure prior to this experience I’ve never had a black head coach in my career I would say the majority of my head coaches have been white middle-aged men I think his journey has affected him in the fact that he really cares about us as people being able to go talk to him about things whether it’s you know outside of the rink or family related stuff he’s very open and you know can offer good advice when you see a black coach I feel like for a lot of people of color it’d be more comfortable to play for a black coach even though we grew up playing for white coaches it’s very important especially for the younger generation growing up I know when I was a kid I love to watch hockey I was watching hockey all the time and you would never see a black head coach You’ see a couple black players you always want to be like them too so for the younger generation it’s really important just to see another face like theirs what was your reaction when your friend was named head coach emotional it was emotional for me because I seen the grind I seen the commitment I seen work to coming here as an assistant coach to gaining the trust by the the organization being named head coach it was amazing for him for his family I know he did every day he fought he battled as a player then he took the same passion and desire to become a coach you know and and work up from the youth levels I’m speechless to be honest with you I just got emotionally sheded tear because that man in there is my brother and if nothing stops him he continues no matter what gets thrown at him he keeps continuing to move moving forward grinding forward and again he’s an inspiration to everybody he comes across good job [Applause] [Music] diesel being a first is an incredible honor I didn’t even realize that was something that I did you kind of just are dropped into these positions you’re like okay what what’s my job now my job is to hopefully make it easier for the next generation and girls to women to be in this position in the future Blake Balden knows all about breaking down barriers in 2015 she became the first black woman to play professional hockey in the now defunct National Women’s Hockey League and 5 years later in 2020 became the first black woman to become a scout for a professional ice hockey team in addition to being a pro Scout for the Kings Balden is also the team’s growth and inclusion specialist and member of the NHL’s player inclusion coalition is it hard for me to work in a sport that’s treated me unfairly at times I’ve experienced looks here and there I’ve experienced that my whole life since I was 6 years old so I’m used to the looks I’m used to hey you got big hair you look different you dress different you talk different you are different and that’s totally fine with me you walk around in in these rinks and people and fans ask you what are you doing are you taking stats that’s the question I get a lot are you taking stats and I’m like no I’m trying to steal your player I’ve built up enough confidence to kind of just let things fall off my shoulders the tides are shifting and there’s a little bit more openness and acceptance you can only change something if you are in it and have the power to change it you can’t change it by looking on the outside and complaining about it the way to describe Blake Balden as a person I mean she’s uh very passionate about uh about life first of all she has a Love of the Game and a love of teaching the game to others and uh I think the significance of Blake Balden being involved in the NHL it’s the influence she has on kids and the passion she puts behind the teaching is given every kid has grown up that maybe they they believe they don’t have a chance that now they look at her and go man I do have a chance if I have a dream if I work for it things will happen [Applause] it’s so good what do you mean all right what’s up what’s up boss got watch your powder let’s get out her big one tonight buddy yep we know how they they break out we want to make sure that we have that middle guy coming and forcing pressure through our f1’s going to reload right back through the middle there we want to make this pressure force him into our stall here so he can make a stand he’s going to pressure through weak sides and auto retrieval aggressive Blue Line Stands we want to make the stand just after Center so by the time we hit the blue we’ve created that stop the more you talk over there gentlemen you know it’s in e that’s the best cheat code talk talk talk you guys should be talking to each other Non-Stop talk over talking is better talk good all right let’s go guys a four game Homestead gets cooking tonight as the Cyclones welcoming the Fort Wayne Comets for a pair of games here inside the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati head coach Jason pay looks to lead the Cyclones out of sixth place in the Central Division and hopefully have a nice little push for the playoffs starting off tonight against the Fort Wayne confin [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] down to that level we’ll see if things present [Applause] themselves he just instills so much that yeah it’s kind of a one in Allin mentality and I know he’s talked about when he experienced these things during his pro career and stuff like that when when he looked over his shoulder there was somebody right next to him on his team ready to have his back so I think just the one in Allin kind of mentality that he instilled and he saw when he played I would describe him as like intense but you love like the intensity um you could tell he wants to win the passion that he has uh he loves this game and he always tells us how much he enjoyed it playing and now he’s just grinding his way so I respect his grind I respect his passion you know you just want to win for a coach like that let go way to watch a regular neutal Court Wayne in their road to whites with the orange socks and numbers Buck is dropped and we are underway good [Applause] job M Stewart M and Stewart next good side [Applause] we got a retrieve pck I’m a people person I have to connect with the players when you connect with them you understand them even more so they understand you nothing is given it’s it has to be earned and it’s usually for coaches players of color you have to earn it twice as hard but as hard as I worked as a player to to get as high as I did got to go deep that whole work ethic that whole drive and desire molded me into who I am today and I bring that right to my coaching up to the Blue Line Asbury can’t get it past Shawn Miller Miller’s in dangles to the front rebound score Mike Ferraro’s on the doorstep and he bangs in the rebound the Cyclones tie the game there have only been seven black coaches in North American Men’s Pro Hockey history Dirk Graham became the NHL’s first and only blackhe head coach when he led the Chicago Blackhawks for 59 games in 1998 99 we are moving in the right direction to have more black coaches in the NHL and especially black head coaches Jason Payne was the first black head coach in the ECHL but progress has been slow when you look at the other professional sports leagues there are many more black coaches already in the NBA and in the NFL and so hockey is behind but I’m encouraged by the fact that there are a lot of coaches in our bipo program who are getting into the pipelines that feed up into the NHL so the NHL CA bipo coaches program aims to support coaches from across the bipot community here in North America but also in Europe in several different areas including skills development professional networking communication tactics bringing visibility to them and to their coaching roles and really the ultimate objective is to help give them a pathway to coach in the NHL and in the American Hockey League as well when people come from backgrounds that feel excluded from a sport or an industry or business without them being able to see thems reflected in the management roles and those making the hiring decisions they just don’t believe that they can ever be in those shoes themselves regardless of race or gender or sexual orientation if you don’t see yourself at those highest levels you inherently don’t believe that you could make it there yourself Jason Payne had a long plane career and when you look at other coaches in the NHL who came through those same pipelines that uh Jason is in now I point to Jared bner you know Stanley Cup winning coach of the Colorado Avalanche he got his J just like Jason is now so Jason is on that path to being a head coach in the NHL one day there’s been one NHL he black coach in history as his friend and what will it mean to you should one day Jason break through to that level it would mean the world to me to see not only my childhood friend my colleague my boss obtain his childhood dream goal would be truly amazing and I don’t have words to express it to be honest with you I just would have overwhelming emotion that you know what I just want to tip my hat to him give him a big hug and said I knew it was just a matter of time buddy [Music] now I spend time with the family as much as I can as soon as I put them down to sleep back on the computer I’m on the computer till sometimes 2:00 in the morning then I go to sleep and guess what I’m up at 6:00 and back at the rink and ready to go and driving pushing guys you want to see the matri of our family that’s my mom it’s not about her being proud of me I’m more proud of her no working two jobs not being able to always be there with me because she has to work to keep me out of trou and allow me to play sports and do things the sacrifices that she made you can’t even put a price tag on that nothing is given it’s it has to be earned usually for coaches players of color you have to earn it twice as hard but as hard as I worked as a player to to get as high as I did that whole work ethic that whole drive and desire molded me into who I am today and I bring that right into my [Music] culture you know when I first started and we first purchased this team there’s no question there was nobody of color not only playing or coaching but certainly not in the stands it was arguably still a white elitist sport but since Jason has been on board that landscape has changed significantly and I love it and it’s everything from little girls in Cyclones jerseys people of color in the stands our foundation will continue to provide ice time and opportunities and equipment to get kids into the system he’s a fighter he’s a soldier he’s a grinder and more importantly like he’s a genuine good person man yeah we’re talking about hockey it’s bigger than the game I truly believe hockey is the vessel for him to have the ability to impact people’s lives white people and of color he’s an inspiration to everybody he comes across sometimes when you’re in a room around people that have been in the same positions or you or have the same backgrounds it’s hard to change it’s hard to think outside the box so I think that’s why diversity is so important it’s not even so much about the color of your skin it’s about diversity of thought as well he has a lot of heart there’s nothing Jason can’t do this guy is the limit it will be a sad day in Cincinnati when we have to see him off he’s capable of of that next level and I actually think he would Thrive at that next level my goal right now is to to be great at work I am cuz when you are then you’re prepare yourself for the next level however for when that opportunity does present itself what I love to coach americ leag coaching them any CH I would love to yes but I want to make sure that I do a great job where I am and if I it means being here for another year or two or three or whatever it is then it is what it is cuz what is for me will be for me when that time comes I just want to make sure I’m ready
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