Readers share experiences facing discrimination, racism in sports following StatCan study

Children play pond hockey in Ottawa's Central Park, on Christmas Day, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)

Six per cent of individuals involved in community sports in Canada have experienced some form of discrimination, according to data from Statistics Canada. Phyllis Tecza’s son is one of them.

Tecza says her son, who is half-Dakota and half-Polish, was a promising young hockey player until he experienced anti-Indigenous racism from other players while at a teammate’s home.

“He was called names like ‘dirty Indian,’ ‘stupid,’ ‘greasy,’ as well as other hate-filled remarks,” Tecza told CTVNews.ca. “My son was upset and angry while I was heartbroken for him. It was my blood that caused this fight.”

Tecza says her son soon lost interest in hockey and began “running with the wrong crowd.”

“I don’t blame all of his troubles on racism, but it created problems,” Tecza said. “He was a good goaltender who once dreamed of playing for his country. Who knows what might have been possible.”

The Statistics Canada data from 2018 to 2023 includes players and those in non-athletic roles, like coaches, referees, volunteers and fans. Underscoring the troubling trend, it found that 21 per cent of those who identify as a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community and 12 per cent of the racialized community reported experiencing unfair treatment, racism or discrimination in sports – rates that were significantly higher than other groups.

“Incidents occurred in a broad range of locations but was most common on playing fields, followed by community centres, and schools and campuses,” a Statistics Canada study explained. “In the current study, over one-quarter of sports participants in athletic roles indicated that they felt racism and discrimination were problems in community sports.”

According to Statistics Canada, 22 per cent of sports participants also lacked confidence in the training of sports personnel to prevent incidents of racism and discrimination in community sports, while 27 per cent said they weren’t confident in the training of personnel to address these types of incidents.

Hockey coach Bradley Payne says that he and his son, who are both Indigenous, have also experienced racists taunts and commentary on the ice.

“We just took it, what else was I supposed to do, lose my coaching certificate?” Payne told CTVNews.ca. “It was tough and now I’m… just mad in my head for not sticking up more about it.”