The PHWA Should Not Award the Masterson Trophy

 

Why the PHWA should not award the Masterson Trophy

A Sports Review by Kristin Battestella

Big things have been happening here at home, and outside of my Women's Hockey feature in Search Magazine, I haven't done sports reporting since I first started writing decades ago. However, this year's Bill Masterson Trophy has been weighing on my mind.

Simply put: I do not think the PHWA should award the Masterson this NHL season.

Awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers Association since 1968, the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy is given to the NHLer who exemplifies dedication, sportsmanship, and perseverance. Unfortunately, numerous individual players making controversial statements and organizations who did the bare minimum during NHL Pride Nights have put a damper on the NHL's attempted “Hockey is for everyone” celebrations. Certainly there are larger personal, professional, political, and PR issues at play and the NHL's Pride events have been overall positively received. However, overshadowing, negative noisemakers resulted in a cruel slap in the face to rainbow hockey fans. When young LGBTQIA+ athletes are looking to the game they love for sportsmanship, receiving hate that goes directly against the NHL's supposedly inclusive policy is unacceptable. The NHL didn't persevere by riding the fence when it came to gay, women, minority, indigenous, and other marginalized fans. As this season went on, it seemed like certain teams were dreading their Pride Nights, and some organizations barely acknowledge support for fans facing strife with little more than warm up rainbow stick tape.

The NHL let the negative voices dominate the Pride narrative, unsportsmanly looking the other way while detractors talked of dismissing Pride Nights altogether. The world's top hockey league showed no dedication to their fans with a weak response to the negative criticism and no apparent anti-hate policy. The NHL cannot merely dismiss cruelty because it was only at the hands of a few players and teams. A player doesn't want to support Pride Night? Scratch him. Oh, these star players can't be scratched for an important game because of an off ice initiative! Then he should realize his beliefs have nothing to do with the sexuality of the season ticket holders that pay his millions. Maybe the NHL should distribute rainbow helmet stickers for every player to wear all season? Don't let teams feign support for one night! Players choosing not to adorn love for their fans every game show their true colors, don't they? What if these players lacking compassion and contributing to the suffering of others could learn that hockey is a chance to bring people together because who you love has nothing to do with how you play on the ice.

Yes, this is a terribly idealistic view. However, the NHL needs to accept that doing business in non-traditional cold rich white men locales means embracing women, minorities, rainbow, and diverse fans. Masterson winners are often players who overcome personal strife or support charity and community initiatives, and the NHL needs to take a stand in supporting the entire hockey community. The PHWA should not look the other way but hold the NHL accountable for its poorly handled Pride, unacceptable abuses, hatred, and scandals by only awarding the Masterson Trophy when it is deserved.

When will that be?

When every team has no naysayers for Pride?

When Chicago answers for its assault crimes instead of being awarded with a Number 1 pick to make their scandals disappear?

Dedicating yourself to perseverance and sportsmanship means not hurting your fellow teammates and hockey fans or telling others hockey is not for them. This season, the NHL was not worthy of what the Masterson trophy represents.