NHL's Seattle Kraken join campaign to combat racism

November 6, 2020 

The NHL's Seattle Kraken have joined the Black Girl Hockey Club’s ‘Get Uncomfortable’ campaign to "make hockey a welcoming space for all BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) communities as players and fans." 

When Renee Hess started the Black Girl Hockey Club in 2018, she considered it "a labor of love" to establish a community of Black women who followed and loved the sport.  

Hess soon decided to get together in person for an NHL game. She circled a Washington Capitals home game in mid-December for three reasons: The Capitals roster included two Black players, Devante Smith-Pelly and Madison Bowey. The NHL game meetup was the first of several more during that season, including two in New York and another in Nashville. 

"At the first game in D.C., I realized this was more impactful than a bunch of fans getting together," said Hess. "It was community building, networking, getting to know the sport of hockey and seeing there are other Black fans, fans maybe we didn't know were out there." 

The Black Girl Hockey Club rapidly evolved into an advocacy non-profit organization focusing on "making hockey more inclusive for Black women, our families, friends and allies" while staying true to the original intent to inspire and sustain a passion for the game of hockey within the Black community, "especially with our mothers, sisters, daughters and friends." 

The new ‘Get Uncomfortable’ campaign is bringing together BIPOC players, fans, media members, executives, sponsors, allies and others to take the pledge to "disrupt racism on and off the ice and make hockey welcoming for everyone." 

Seattle Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke announced that it is taking the ‘Get Uncomfortable’ pledge as an organization. More than 3,300 pledges have been registered and shared on social media since the campaign's September 23 launch. The Kraken are the first NHL team to take the pledge. 

"The Kraken have a passion for the sport of hockey as does Black Girl Hockey Club and we are aligned with the mission to disrupt racism on and off the ice," said Leiweke. "We are committed to making our great game accessible to everyone. It will require challenges to the norm and commitment throughout our sport." 

"Like every hockey fan, it's exciting to see the teamwork and team mentality need to win a Stanley Cup," said Hess. "It's one big reason I love this game - players on the same wavelength through all the rounds of the playoffs. What we want to do with the ‘Get Uncomfortable’ campaign is unravel that part of the hockey culture that makes team more important than each individual deserving to be treated with respect and equality."

The National Hockey League is a Founding Supporter of Beyond Sport.