Tipped Off
01-14-2007, 10:09 AM
Minority role calls for major character
By John Sleeper
Herald writer
EVERETT - At an Everett Silvertips practice Thursday, Zack Dailey was up to his usual upheaval.
Generously listed at 5-foot-6, 160 pounds, Dailey turned on the jets and screamed down the right-hand side of the ice, the puck hanging on to his stick as if on a string. Suddenly, Dailey cut inward toward the goal, dodged teammates seemingly twice his size, teammates who have the strength and disposition to smash Dailey onto the ice and plant him like a rhododendron.
Dailey, however, had other plans.
Turning his body so that his path was parallel to the goal mouth, Dailey was now skating backward, mere feet from goalie Leland Irving, waiting for Irving to commit to one side. Dailey flipped the puck goalward while propelling himself away from Irving. The shot flew six inches over the goal, but the point was made.
Dailey is about doing the unexpected. Don't ever overlook him.
Dailey's intelligence has served him well in his hockey life. His head has allowed him to survive in a world of players bigger and stronger than he is.
And it has directed him to do the right thing when ignorant fans try to rattle him any way they can.
Like racial slurs.
Dailey, 17, is one of a handful of black players in the Western Hockey League. He says a few fans cross the line between practicing good-natured heckling and heading full-steam ahead into racism.
It's rarely the n-word. Dailey does, however, hear the occasional black joke. He hears occasional references to "Gary Coleman" or "Willis," Coleman's character on the old "Diff'rent Strokes" sitcom.
"It's something I can't control myself, so I don't see why I should be worried about it," Dailey said. "I don't think it's right whatsoever, but I can't change it and I can't let it affect me. I just have to keep playing my game, no matter what other people think or say."
Racial remarks rarely come from opposing players, whom Dailey credits for being classy. Most often, he hears it from the stands.
Hockey isn't exactly a poster child for racial tolerance. Willie O'Ree became the NHL's Jackie Robinson in 1958. He played two games with the Boston Bruins that year before the Bruins sent him to the minors. He didn't return until 1961, when he came back for a 43-game stint. That was the end of his NHL career. He continued playing, however, and twice won the WHL scoring title.
Through it all, O'Ree experienced almost constant verbal abuse. Fans would yell at him to "Go back to the South" or ask him why he wasn't picking cotton instead.
No other black player came to the NHL until 1974, when the Washington Capitals drafted Mike Marston. The NHL had just 18 black players between 1958 and 1991. In 2004 alone, it had 17. Today in the WHL, there are about 10 blacks among the nearly 500 players.
While racism certainly played a role in keeping the figure to a minimum, it also was a function of the demographic makeup of Canada. In 1971, more than 95 percent of NHL players were Canadian, and only .02 percent of all Canadians were black. The United States, which has a much higher black population than Canada, now contributes around 15 percent of all NHL players. Canada produces just over 60 percent.
Dailey knew that his race, coupled with his lack of size, might well be obstacles preventing him from moving up in professional hockey. He didn't care. He loved the game. That's all that mattered.
"I just wanted to prove that it doesn't matter who you are or what size you are," Dailey said. "If you play with heart every night, anything's possible."
Growing up in Healey, Alaska, Dailey was warned by his father, John Dailey, a professional pilot, to expect racial slurs.
"He said it's not right, that they shouldn't be doing it, but there are people who do it, so be ready for it," Dailey said.
Dailey said he hears fewer racist remarks in the WHL than he did in hockey's lower levels. But his approach is still the same: Just play the game.
"They do it to try to rattle you," he said. "If you let it rattle you, mission accomplished for them. You have to shrug it off and play harder."
Playing hard has never been Dailey's weakness.
By John Sleeper
Herald writer
EVERETT - At an Everett Silvertips practice Thursday, Zack Dailey was up to his usual upheaval.
Generously listed at 5-foot-6, 160 pounds, Dailey turned on the jets and screamed down the right-hand side of the ice, the puck hanging on to his stick as if on a string. Suddenly, Dailey cut inward toward the goal, dodged teammates seemingly twice his size, teammates who have the strength and disposition to smash Dailey onto the ice and plant him like a rhododendron.
Dailey, however, had other plans.
Turning his body so that his path was parallel to the goal mouth, Dailey was now skating backward, mere feet from goalie Leland Irving, waiting for Irving to commit to one side. Dailey flipped the puck goalward while propelling himself away from Irving. The shot flew six inches over the goal, but the point was made.
Dailey is about doing the unexpected. Don't ever overlook him.
Dailey's intelligence has served him well in his hockey life. His head has allowed him to survive in a world of players bigger and stronger than he is.
And it has directed him to do the right thing when ignorant fans try to rattle him any way they can.
Like racial slurs.
Dailey, 17, is one of a handful of black players in the Western Hockey League. He says a few fans cross the line between practicing good-natured heckling and heading full-steam ahead into racism.
It's rarely the n-word. Dailey does, however, hear the occasional black joke. He hears occasional references to "Gary Coleman" or "Willis," Coleman's character on the old "Diff'rent Strokes" sitcom.
"It's something I can't control myself, so I don't see why I should be worried about it," Dailey said. "I don't think it's right whatsoever, but I can't change it and I can't let it affect me. I just have to keep playing my game, no matter what other people think or say."
Racial remarks rarely come from opposing players, whom Dailey credits for being classy. Most often, he hears it from the stands.
Hockey isn't exactly a poster child for racial tolerance. Willie O'Ree became the NHL's Jackie Robinson in 1958. He played two games with the Boston Bruins that year before the Bruins sent him to the minors. He didn't return until 1961, when he came back for a 43-game stint. That was the end of his NHL career. He continued playing, however, and twice won the WHL scoring title.
Through it all, O'Ree experienced almost constant verbal abuse. Fans would yell at him to "Go back to the South" or ask him why he wasn't picking cotton instead.
No other black player came to the NHL until 1974, when the Washington Capitals drafted Mike Marston. The NHL had just 18 black players between 1958 and 1991. In 2004 alone, it had 17. Today in the WHL, there are about 10 blacks among the nearly 500 players.
While racism certainly played a role in keeping the figure to a minimum, it also was a function of the demographic makeup of Canada. In 1971, more than 95 percent of NHL players were Canadian, and only .02 percent of all Canadians were black. The United States, which has a much higher black population than Canada, now contributes around 15 percent of all NHL players. Canada produces just over 60 percent.
Dailey knew that his race, coupled with his lack of size, might well be obstacles preventing him from moving up in professional hockey. He didn't care. He loved the game. That's all that mattered.
"I just wanted to prove that it doesn't matter who you are or what size you are," Dailey said. "If you play with heart every night, anything's possible."
Growing up in Healey, Alaska, Dailey was warned by his father, John Dailey, a professional pilot, to expect racial slurs.
"He said it's not right, that they shouldn't be doing it, but there are people who do it, so be ready for it," Dailey said.
Dailey said he hears fewer racist remarks in the WHL than he did in hockey's lower levels. But his approach is still the same: Just play the game.
"They do it to try to rattle you," he said. "If you let it rattle you, mission accomplished for them. You have to shrug it off and play harder."
Playing hard has never been Dailey's weakness.