Boston University Student Becomes First Black Hockey Player For US Men's Olympic Team
A Boston University hockey player will soon make history as the first black person to be a part of the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team.
Jordan Greenway will be a part of the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team as they compete in Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Greenway, who is one of four NCAA players to be a part of the team, will be the first black player to break a 98-year color barrier in U.S. Olympic men's hockey (ice hockey became an official Olympic event at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium).
"I just think I'm another kid going to play in the Olympics, I don't really see it like that," the 20-year-old Greenway said to NBC Sports. "I'm happy I am the first. I hope I'm the first of many and I hope I can just motivate younger kids to kind of try something different. I don’t think a lot of African-Americans play hockey at a high level. I'm just trying to get more and more of those kids to try and go out and do something different."
Late last year, black NHL player J.T. Brown received death threats and was called racist remarks for raising his fist in the air before a game. The Tampa Bay Lightning player responded to the backlash via Twitter, writing:
"I have received racist remarks and death threats because [people] disagree with me because how I chose to raise awareness. We need to be able to listen to those with an opposing view and talk to one another if [we] want to learn, grow, and make change.""I know it may not sit well with everyone, but to truly make change in this world we must be able to be pushed outside of our comfort zone…I want young minorities to see what they may be going through is not being ignored by the hockey community," Brown added.
The men's hockey competition starts February 14.
Source: NBC Sports