Last Saturday, some Chicago Blackhawks fans were ejected for chanting racial taunts at Devante Smith-Pelly while he was in the penalty box.
Earlier this week, the Blackhawks responded to the unacceptable comments made by those fans by banning them.
The incident was ugly and there's no place for racism in sports and more importantly in society. As Smith-Pelly said, though, incidents like these can't be swept under the rug.
They have to be talked about so people can be held accountable for their actions (as they were here) and so we can continue to work toward creating positive change.
Speaking of positive, there was something positive that came out of this awful incident. Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune rallied Blackhawks fans to raise money for Smith-Pelly to donate to a charity of his choosing after receiving this email:
One email, however, jumped out. It came from John Simpson, who suggested instead that Hawks fans donate to Smith-Pelly’s charity of choice or, failing that, to the Capitals’ team charity, and either way, he would deliver the first $10,000.
On Friday, Steve announced that fans had raised nearly $20,000 to donate.
The money was raised for the Fort Dupont Ice Arena in Washington, and as per Steve, here's a little more info on the arena and charity:
With help from the Hawks and Capitals, I learned Smith-Pelly chose the Fort Dupont Ice Arena, the only full-size indoor ice rink in Washington, D.C., and home to the Cannons, the oldest minority youth hockey program in North America and the oldest ice hockey program that is a member of the Hockey is for Everyone™ initiative.
The 501-3(c) charity also houses the Kids On Ice program. The goals of both are to teach young people discipline and self-esteem while instilling a sense of purpose and offering an incentive to excel academically.
Hats of to Steve, the Blackhawks fans that have raised money and other fans that have done the same, and if you want to donate, click this link to do so!
(H/T: FTW)
