Inclusion and diversity in sports should be a normal practice, especially today, but it is still a big issue in all sports no matter the level being played.
Sports are for everyone no matter the ethnicity, race, or gender. But sadly for so many athletes they still face discrimination and hear the demeaning comments from others in the sport questioning them playing.
Scotiabank came out with a powerful ad surrounding inclusion and diversity in the sport of hockey. Whether players are of different ethnicity, race, or gender they all belong and deserve to play hockey. It showed what these players have heard throughout their careers and still sadly hear today.
The sports community is built around a team mindset, everyone on that team should be supported and included. When that doesn’t happen, it can really make the team as a whole noticeably different and most likely not perform to the level that it should.
In a community that is rich in so many different sports from all over the world, we should be welcoming to everyone no matter who they are. Being a member of a team should only mean that the players are there to play the game and help the team. They should not be judged on anything else but that.
Another incredible step to inclusion and diversity is being done by the Toronto 6ix, the city’s professional women’s hockey team. “The Movement” was started by the organization and its players to use both the team and its players to grow the game and promote diversity and inclusion for women in the sport of hockey.
Humber College is a school that is lucky to have a diverse and unique student and faculty population. For its sports teams — varsity, extramural and intramural —are open for everyone to participate and try out.
Being a part of a team is incredible and playing the sport that you love is an indescribable feeling, when there is inclusion in your team and that diversity becomes your family.
When we hear in the media about discrimination in the sporting world, athletes across all sports feel pain in their chest that there needs to be more done to make sure that it does not happen.
Two recent incidents reveal the breadth of the problem. England’s Black soccer players faced a barrage of hate and racism after failing to score in penalty kicks in the final game of this year’s Euro Cup. And American hockey player Jalen Smereck was taunted with a racist gesture by Andriy Deniskin during a Ukrainian Hockey League game in September.
Athletes should walk into the dressing room or walk right out onto the playing surface and not have to worry about being questioned as to why they are there. The only answer to that question should be because they have the skill, drive, and heart to be.
There is always more to be done, no one that is starting a sport or that has been playing a sport for their entire lives should ever be questioned as to why they are there based on something like their ethnicity, race, or gender.
Everyone belongs in sports, the beauty of the team and its fans at any level is seeing that all players, fans, coaches, and all participating are included and welcomed.