DeSantis’ Latest Culture War Target – The NHL
The Florida governor is using his supremacist tactics against professional hockey.
No matter how White, how solidly conservative an institution is, if they dare to show the slightest hint of diversity, reactionary Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is quick to show that only White, Eurocentrism is welcome in his state.
The National Hockey League, that bastion of White male Republicanism, was planning to hold a special event to promote inclusivity during NHL All-Star Weekend. The event, called The Pathway to Hockey Summit, described itself as “career event for diverse job seekers who are pursuing careers in hockey.”
The event was designed for participants older than 18, US residents, and who “identify as female, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and/or a person with a disability,” as well as veterans.
Well, the notion that the Whitest of American team sports might consider pursuing diversity was too much for DeSantis. His spokesperson issued the following statement:
“We do not abide by the woke notion that discrimination should be overlooked if applied in a politically popular manner or against an unpopular demographic.”
Through his mouthpiece, DeSantis insisted the NHL “remove and denounce” the “prohibitions it has imposed.”
The NHL caved into political pressure, and replaced the original post, with the identification criteria removed.
To DeSantis, the summit was “discriminatory.”
Anything that promotes equality and diversity, which doesn’t look lily-White, is anathema to him and his supporters.
To DeSantis, hockey must be the last bastion of White Supremacy, a sport whose players are overwhelmingly White.
And he wants to keep it that way.
Sadly, it would seem that the NHL, which seemed to have been making a good faith effort to change their demographics, will be a co-conspirator.
It doesn’t matter if they’re a willing or unwilling participant in a lack of inclusiveness.
As long as they and other organizations kowtow to this kind of malevolent, discriminatory pressure, they will be complicit, and demonstrate that any stated commitment to diversity and inclusion is just talk.