PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA Mike Marson can relate to what Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly endured when four Chicago Blackhawks “fans” racially taunted him as he sat in the press box at the United Center last Saturday.
Mike Marson was drafted by the Washington Capitals at age 18 in 1974.
“One can only imagine what it must have felt like when a certain 18 year old was all by himself against such bad form on and off the ice,” Marson told me.
Marson doesn’t have to imagine it. He lived it his rookie year with the expansion Capitals in 1974-75. He was the National Hockey League’s second black player, entering the league 16 years after Willie O’Ree broke in with the Boston Bruins.
Marson expressed disgust that black players are being targeted with racial slurs and disdain for the fans – and sometimes players – who utter them.
“It’s a shame that pro hockey in all its greatness still has these low points,” he told me.
Bill Riley echoed Marson’s sentiment. Riley, a forward, joined the Capitals shortly after Marson. They say misery loves company, but Riley said he wouldn’t wish the racial vitriol that he and Marson endured on anyone.
“They referred to Mike Marson and I as round ball players in Detroit in the mid seventies and wasn’t (just) the fans,” Riley told me. “Hard to believe that garbage still exists 40 plus years later.”
The “fans” who were removed and subsequently banned from Blackhawks home games showered Smith-Pelly with a chorus of “basketball, basketball, basketball,” a not-too-thinly veiled message that he should be a power forward in the National Basketball Association, not the NHL.
Bill Riley and Mike Marson were teammates on the Washington Capitals in the mid-1970s. They experienced the same racists taunts that Capitals forward Devente Smith-Pelly endured in Chicago. Photos/Washngton Capitals).
“It’s pretty obvious what that means,” Smith-Pelly said of the taunts. “Whether it’s that word or any other word, I got the idea. And I’m sure they got the idea, too. Just one word, and that’s really all it takes.”
Marson and Riley didn’t go public about what they went through when they were playing.
Neither wanted to be viewed as complainers or malcontents because they thought it would be a sure way to get a one-way ticket to the minor leagues and hockey obscurity.
So they suffered in silence. Riley praises Smith-Pelly and other black players in the NHL for stepping up and speaking out against racist behavior on the ice and in the stands.
Pretty embarrassing that this still happens. Doesn't shock me though which is the saddest part of all. Those ppl should be banned from every rink in the NHL #ignorance @NHL @NHLBlackhawks
— Wayne Simmonds (@Simmonds17) February 19, 2018
Hockey is for everyone. If you think black athletes should only play basketball, than you clearly don’t know much about sports. There’s no room for racism in the rink or anywhere.
— JT Brown (@JTBrown23) February 18, 2018
“Kudos to Smith-Pelly,” Riley said.
Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.
Although a nonsense ignorance, It is important to note, primo; how quickly Chicago staff handled situation,the support immediately following, by many concerned people, this was not the case back in the day but happily we are not back in the day! Val James received disgusting treatment from Junior upward, ” similar to a Vietnam war zone “.One Caucasian couple mentioned they would never attend another hockey game after witnessing the treatment reserved for him. Marson & Riley suffered sadly because they held an integral part upon their NHL team, during a time when even the bus driver & coach could insult them without any backlash other than hearing laughter. I lift my hat to them. Smith – Pelly just continue to play and improve, this is your best response to this type of situation.