Black, Hockey, and the One-Drop Rule

During the black and white lecture, the professor talked about the one-drop rule. This was basically that, if you had one drop of black blood, you were 'black.' You weren't white.

It is hardly a stereotype that white people play hockey. However, on Martin Luther King day, TSN did a special on a group of five black hockey players playing in the city of Atlanta, where there is the highest population of black people among all NHL cities. The general manager, who puts together the team, insists that the city’s population was not a factor in the decisions to acquire these players, but one has to wonder if there was some underlying motive to sell more tickets. In the mini special, the players talked about reaching out to the black community of Atlanta.

It is also interesting because none of these players are 'purely' black. One was raised in Sweden, and the rest of them have a biracial family. Interestingly, they are still called black by the hockey world. Never once was it mentioned in the special.