The NHL Player Inclusion Coalition is the latest step in a process started in the summer of 2020, when the police killing of George Floyd led to a worldwide reckoning on matters of race. Specifically, Duggan said she and fellow coalition member Mark Fraser spoke to Toronto Maple Leafs players about Pride issues. The HDA was established outside the league’s umbrella by current and former NHL players of color in 2020 to speak out against racism and intolerance, and with a mission to open up hockey to minorities. “Hockey players deserve a world without doubt to know that hockey’s for them,” Carter said. “We’re not going to roll over and not celebrate Pride nights and not welcome that community into hockey,” she said.
