Daley, now the Penguins’ hockey operations consultant, was joined by Penguins Radio Network and PensTV host Josh Getzoff. The two talked about being a representative in hockey on and off the ice.
Before they spoke, Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse spoke first. He outlined some of the ways the organization wants to diversify sport in both the workplace and the community.
Morehouse also spoke about the penguins having a platform and that he believes the organization has an obligation to use it to make meaningful changes within the community. To this end, Morehouse is a member of the NHL’s Executive Inclusion Council.
After Morehouse finished, Delvina Morrow, director of strategic and community initiatives at Penguins, took the lead to share some of the other exciting events the team is hosting this month.
“Today is just the beginning,” she said with a smile.
From there it was time for Daley and Getzoff to step into the spotlight.
After an introduction from Getzoff, Daley shared how proud he is to be back with the Penguins with all the organization’s activities, saying Morehouse first informed him about the initiative early last summer.
Daley urged viewers to become involved with the youth of the community, pointing out the importance of giving them something to commit to and something to keep them focused. It’s more important to make better people out of children than better hockey players, he said.
Since Daley never had the opportunity to speak to someone who’s been through the same things as him, he’s excited to be part of the Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA), which he founded with eight other past and current hockey players in June 2020 to eradicate the system of racism and intolerance in hockey.
“We’re just trying to do the right thing,” he said. “And we hope people will follow.”
Another important aspect of the HDA is to ensure that children these days are not exposed to the racial discrimination that Daley was exposed to and to create an environment where minorities can become hockey players in the same way as others.
This goes beyond talent on the ice, Daley reminded the audience. It extends to all levels of the organization so everyone can go to work and see people who look like them, which hopefully creates opportunities for others.
“I’ll keep learning, keep trying to get better and keep helping where I can,” said Daley. “That’s part of it, this initiative we’re talking about today is part of it. If there’s a child who looks like me, you can see what I’m doing and what I’ve done – when I help and could send a message to him that this could be done then let me know where to sign up. “
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