The NHL has a somewhat unfortunate history of questionable race relations.
From the roadblocks faced by Herb Carnegie, the first black Canadian to be offered an NHL contract, to the Wayne Simmonds, Peter Worrell and Kevin Weekes banana incidents, to John Vanbiesbrouck's use of a racial epithet when referencing Dallas Stars defenseman Trevor Daley in 2003, there have been a relatively small, but still egregious and regretful, handful of issues that have plagued the sport over the years.
Since the Simmonds incident in Sep. 2011, the league has managed to avoid most race-related incidents, but a questionable decision by a theater troupe in Quebec has again raised the specter of race and the NHL.
The Theatre du Rideau Vert in Quebec held their year-end show, "Revue et Corrigee" last month. The theater, which has a history of white actors in blackface, used the highly unfortunate and clearly offensive makeup when having one of their actors portray Montreal Canadiens defenseman, P.K. Subban.
Pat Donnelly, a longtime theater reviewer for the Montreal Gazette, said the use of blackface has bothered her in the past and again left a sour taste in her mouth.
"I've gone for many years and I must say this year I almost didn't go because I had some concerns that I would once again see a white performer in blackface with a bad Afro wig trying to pretend they're a black person, because it's been frequently done with this show in the past," Donnelly said, per CBC News in Montreal. "But I thought surely not this year, given all the unrest south of the border."
Quincy Armorer, artistic director for the Black Theater Workshop in Montreal and one of a number of Montreal artists who signed an open letter criticizing the theater's use of blackface, was stunned by the theater's decision.
"I was offended, as I expected to be. Just the image of blackface turns my stomach," Armorer said.
Armorer hadn't planned to attend the year-end show, but felt that he should so that he could form his own opinion.
"It's offensive. It's not so much offensive what they did with it, [but] the act itself just is. It comes with a whole history that has racist connotations to it and you can't get away from that no matter what you do," Armorer continued.
Subban has been the subject of questionable race relations in the NHL before; in 2010, two white Habs fans came to the Bell Center in Montreal in blackface. It was a practice halted quickly by the league.
According to CBC News, the theater's artistic director, Denise Filiatrault told Montreal's La Presse that the portrayal of Subban "wasn't blackface" and that she was "shocked, outraged and humiliated" by the reaction.
