"It's important that coaches realize... there are a lot of times that players don't necessarily have other people to go to."

An important conversation was had during our Virtual Hockey Summit this year, notably around social and racial injustice.

Dr. John Izzo, founder of The Men’s Initiative at the University of British Columbia, and Lawrence Scott, the Director of Player Development for the Army West Point football team spoke for 44 minutes on the topic, from a coaching perspective.

“It’s important that coaches realize when we are in the role that we are in as coaches, there are a lot of times that players don’t necessarily have other people to go to talk about certain things they may be experiencing, that you don’t know they’re experiencing,” said Scott.

This summer, NHL players helped to shine a light on the Black Lives Matter movement, by refusing to play games in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It’s all about empathy, says Scott.

“It’s important to note that it’s not any fault of your own and you should carry no guilt or shame for being part of whatever demographic you are apart of,” he said, but “carrying no guilt or shame, also recognizing that there are others who don’t have the same experience as you, who don’t look like you.”