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Mixed feelings about today: overjoyed that one of my childhood heroes, Willie O'Ree, is getting his number retired; sad to see that there's still a large number of racists who publicly object to it, minimize it or both
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I actually thought they did that a while ago. What took them so long? I guess, to be fair, he only played 45 NHL games (Bruins), scoring 4 goals. Is it racist to think that's not enough for such a prestigious team honour? He is in the HoF. But, I understand this jersey retirement is more of a symbol of how he broke ground for others in the game and making it to the highest level of competition - as a Bruin, and not so much about his skill level or contributions to the Bruin's success. Good for him, though. Congrats Willie
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@NUCKER67 The Bruins had planned on retiring Willie's number a couple of years ago, but postponed the actual ceremony because they wanted fans in the building for it (which I agree with). And while you might get the point about what he did for the game, not just for black players but even for black *fans* like myself, there are a lot of racists who use the point about his relatively short career as a way of both invalidating O'Ree and diversity itself. And a lot of the vitriol I've read have been attached to attacks against the HDA (Hockey Diversity Allliance).
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