Tennessee State's historic foray into ice hockey could break barriers for Black Youth in sports

"I think it's important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general.

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The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won't feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport." Zion Williams.

Detroit radio icon and hockey fan Gerald McBride was inspired to write the screenplay for his film Black Ice: The Rhythm when he looked around at a sold-out University of Michigan hockey game and realized he was the only Black fan among 10,000.

Among the "Big Four" professional sports leagues in the United States, the National Hockey League has the least racial diversity among its players, 90% of whom are white and only 0.052% of whom are Black.

In contrast, about 70.4% of NBA players, 53.5% of NFL players, and 6.2% of Major League Baseball players are Black.