The Washington Capitals presented two members of the Howard figure skating club with special Black History Month jerseys for their achievements in increasing racial representation across a predominantly white sport.
The “Celebrating Black History” jerseys were unveiled on Feb. 5 at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex as part of the team’s celebration of Black hockey and honoring Black heritage, culture and community, according to the designers from The Museum D.C.
The “Celebrating Black Hockey – Pathways to Hockey” panel featured former Capitals right wing Devante Smith-Pelly, Howard alumnus and analyst Tarik El-Bashir, Tennessee State University head ice hockey coach Duante Abercrombie and LeGreg Harrison and Nyrik Lee of The Museum D.C.
Co-founder of the Howard figure skating club, Maya James, and current club vice president Toni Smith, were awarded jerseys for their commitment to increasing representation across skating.
“The Black ice skating community whether it be speed skating, figure skating or ice hockey is pretty small, so it really means a lot that [the Capitals] are reaching across all sports to really bring us together with people that care about what we’re doing,” Smith said.
Smith referenced support from a local skating community that was recently shaken by the loss of several of its members in a D.C. plane crash that left no survivors. Howard’s skaters were able to view the memorial that sits near the ice rink.
“It was a really hard loss, especially for our coach who knew a lot of people on that plane,” Smith said. “It really was a hit to the figure skating community. We all feel it.”
Much like Howard’s figure skating club, Tennessee State has opened a lane for Black skaters at the collegiate level, as they are set to debut as the first HBCU Division I ice hockey team in October.
A predominantly white sport, men’s ice hockey at the Division I level reported that 97 percent of head coaches were white males and one percent were Black, while 74 percent of the student-athletes were white males and one percent were Black, according to the NCAA demographics database.
Tennessee State’s Head Coach Abercrombie showed excitement for the opportunity to define what HBCU ice hockey looks like at the Division I level.
“We are an HBCU out there, and we’re going to do it our way,” Abercrombie said. “Whether that’s having a band out there, serving food or whatever else we want it to look like, it’s going to be different.”
While Tennessee State will be the first Division I HBCU ice hockey program, Abercrombie is hopeful that more will join. As a D.C. native, he believes Howard should be among the next crop of HBCUs to house an ice hockey program.
“There are a few challenges that have come with trying to establish a team. Fundraising and recruiting are a couple of factors that have continued to persist as issues, because it costs upwards of two million dollars to get going,” Abercrombie said.
He believes that with the current push of increasing accessibility in D.C. and Howard’s access to resources, the school is in a prime position to establish an ice hockey team.
As it stands now, some Howard figure skaters are former ice hockey athletes who were able to translate their skating skills into the art of figure skating.
Smith welcomes the idea of a hockey team at Howard, saying, “As a former ice hockey player myself, my dream has been for there to be a team at Howard. Figure skating isn’t a Division I sport right now, so hockey would give students the opportunity to compete at that level.”
Former Capitals winger Smith-Pelly, who scored the game-tying goal in the series-clinching win during the 2018 Stanley Cup finals, expressed that Washington, D.C.’s demographics illuminated the need for inclusivity in the sport.
The Ontario, Canada native recalled that playing hockey was constantly being pushed onto him and his peers as a child, however this was not the case in the states or in the NHL where 97 percent of active players are white.
“I don’t think it really hit me until I played here. Obviously the demographics here, Howard University being right down the street, I didn’t have that in other places I played,” Smith-Pelly said. “Especially when we won, and at the parade you see all these Black boys, girls, parents… that showed me I need to be trying to impact more.”
The Capitals, who currently sit atop the Eastern Conference, have begun a two week break due to the Four Nations Face-Off. The team has not yet debuted the Black History Month jerseys, but will have the opportunity to do so as they return with a Feb. 23 game against the Edmonton Oilers.
Copy edited by Aniyah Genama
