Work Text:
What happens when your model minority isn't a model anymore?
April 17, 2021
By: Christi Hoffman
I made an initial post a few years back about this phenomenon when Hollander had just been drafted but took it down because it felt slightly delusional - but oh, have my suspicions been confirmed.
I usually don't like getting into drama. The NHL is the NHL. Allegations will be covered up, slurs will be thrown around, and the term "puck bunny" still exists. The league will most likely never change, and most of us have come to terms with that. But this situation made me particularly angry, so I'll scream into the void a bit.
If you are somehow into hockey but still out of the loop, our two biggest stars Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander are in a confirmed romantic relationship and people are having an absolute field day with it. For a while there had been speculations that Hollander might be gay, particularly after his breakup with actress Rose Landry, so for a lot of us this is not necessarily a shock. What is a shock though, is that the mystery man is Rozanov. While I understand that there is a fair amount of astonishment that comes with this, frankly, extremely strange situation, I think that it's worth analyzing exactly how people are going about their anger. Mainly regarding people's widespread "disappointment" in Hollander, that seems to be coming from a much different place than Rozanov or even Scott Hunter.
Now, I'm in no way implying that Rozanov and Hunter aren't getting a ton of homophobia, but that place it's coming from is so very obviously different, and Shane is my baby, so that's what we will be discussing. (If you'd like a bit of an analyzation on the reaction to Rozy, comment and I'll whip up something!)
I think my main gripe with fans' reactions is that a lot of you are treating this as if he not only failed your expectations, but as if you are revoking some privilege that you gave him. As if him being here is a gift that only you could give, and he messed it up. It isn't just anger or disappointment; you were lying in wait to latch on to the one time he steps out of line. Dallas Kent can have SA allegations, Colin Campbell can use his power to show favoritism, and so on, but one of the only guys in the league that is clean makes one "mistake" and you guys burn him at the stake.
This goes all the way back to when he was first drafted. It's never about talent, practice, or his upbringing; it's always an exception. You disregard the fact that his father played hockey in college, his mother is extremely knowledgeable about the sport, and that he is literally from Canada - The country known for its hockey! - and go straight to luck and genes. I know it seems far-fetched, but did they not do the same with Tiger Woods and Serena Williams; they aren't good because of anything physical. They were predestined exceptions to your rules. (I actually despise these comparisons but that's for another time.)
He isn't allowed to step out of line because that would mean he's an actual person, and if he's a person, that means your model no longer exists. This is even more annoying when you look at the fact that there are other Asian players that most of you treat like trash anyway. We have good players like Victor Bartley and Julie Chu, yet almost every "fan" I see downplays their achievements, all while glazing some random goalie from the Blue Jackets.
Don't get me wrong; I understand that this still means nothing. the NHL is still around 93% white and racism is still prevalent; I can't expect things to be great. But it's annoying to see all of them put in the same group and pit against each other for the prize of a white man's approval. People were always waiting for him to mess up because if he does your racism can be easily disguised as simple disappointment.
Valmore James said it best, "When I started skating, I set out to be a hockey player, not a black hockey player … However, the two concepts quickly became intertwined. And not by choice. From early on, there were some people who were determined to prove that being black and being a hockey player were mutually exclusive."
Everything that Shane Hollander has done will always be connected to his race because some of you simply can't see him as a human.