What hurdles did you encounter being a brown kid wanting to play hockey? How about other stories from friends/colleagues?
At the age of 7 and 8 I had opposing players say racial slurs to me. One game, I had about 4 goals and the player who lived in the nearby town whom we were playing against made sure I heard the words that he was yelling out to me. I was surprised to see a young kid at his age saying those discriminatory words. My second year of Bantam hockey, I had encounters of players stating that I should quit hockey because “my people” don’t play hockey and that I should move back to my country (India). The same year, I heard and watched a parent from a nearby town who’s son I played with for two years, yell out racial slurs directed towards me. His son was a goalie and he made a point to look at me tell his son not to let me score on me while saying discriminatory words. I watched the parent and was in shock how he was reacting.
You mention how September 11, 2001 changed people’s perception. How did you deal with that?
The people in the US where I was playing would ask me questions: are you Muslim? Do you know the people that did that? Or they would look at me differently and try to steer the conversation about the attacks. I would educate them on where I was born and my family lineage being from India. We flew very often to our road games and I would always be randomly searched. My teammates would get mad at the airport security for allows picking me to be searched. I didn’t let it totally affect me but educated the people that had questions or inquiries.
What advice do you have for other South Asian and other minority groups wanting to play hockey?
Definitely try to play the sport of hockey. It’s a fun team sport which helps with so many intangibles in life; work ethic, self esteem, health & wellness, sportsmanship, team concepts, respect for others, preparation etc.
What resources are available for those from minority communities?
Well, the Apna Hockey program can definitely help and get info out to the families. Depending where a family lives there are associations set up to help guide and assist families with their hockey needs. Link for ApnaHockey.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I want to thank you for this opportunity, I appreciate you for reaching out and would be available to help our minority families with any hockey related info.
On behalf of Sports4everyone, we would like to thank you for your time and congratulate you on all your achievements and on winning the Willie O’Ree Award.
