The Washington Capitals and the Blackhawks meet up in Chicago. Devante Smith-Pelly is a player on the Washing Capitals hockey team. Although Smith-Pelly has had racist comments thrown his way before, this time was worse. A fan decided to start chanting, “basketball, basketball, basketball” while Smith-Pelly sat in the penalty box. The Capitals lost the game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Even though hockey has predominantly white athletes, there’s no reason for racism. The same goes for any other sport. When it comes to talent, color, race and culture do not matter. Smith-Pelly had this to say about the racist comments said during the game: “It’s not really a secret. Whether it’s that word or any other word, I got the idea. And I’m sure they got the idea, too. Just one word, and that’s really all it takes.”
“It’s disgusting. You’d think there would be some sort of change or progression, but were still working toward it, I guess, and were going to keep working toward it”, mentioned Smith-Pelly. It’s very depressing that these kinds of comments are still being said. Ideas and perspectives need to change about race and culture. Everyone is different and brings different aspects to the table. Respect should be given to everyone, regardless of race, culture or anything else. Love before anything.