New Twist in Hill District Standoff

I work with the very people who feel that the Penguins are this foreign encroachment on their neighborhood. The Penguins, they feel, are there for their own purposes. They don't care about the people in the surrounding neighborhood, relate to them, or have any incentive to help them. Hoards of outsiders flock to some game from some foreign culture, night after night. They have no relationship to or understanding of the surrounding neighborhood or its people. No one on either team is anything like the people of the surrounding Hill District or understands what their lives have been like.

That changed two nights ago. The Penguins haven't been home since it changed. The Penguins haven't been playing next to the Hill District since it changed. But for two nights in a row, the Penguins have been different. They have had a player who knows what it's like. English may not be his native language. His name may not sound like the names of the vast majority of Hill District residents who feel so ignored by the Penguins, who feel so foreign to the Penguins. He may even sound as foreign as the rest of the Penguins, but he's not.

His name is Georges Laraque. He is black and he grew up in a small town near Montreal where he was treated as an outsider. From the time he was a small child, he was told black athletes did not belong in hockey. He was called the N-word by teammates and fans. His parents begged him to quit and find another sport where he would be accepted. But he loved hockey. He felt he had the same right as a white Quebecois child to idolize Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky and dream of being the next Lemieux or Gretzky. Just as the people in the Hill District feel their rights are just as important as the Penguins' rights, he felt he had the same right to be a hockey player as the white children. He used their racism as fuel to propel himself forward.

His parents eventually moved to Montreal where he would be accepted. Now he is in the NHL. Now, ironically, the residents of the Hill District have a Penguin player who knows EXACTLY what they have endured.

On top of this, Georges Laraque is a role model for those who have endured discrimination. He is determined off the ice to be a gracious and decent human being and to do charity work and give back to the community. He is also determined to make the most of this opportunity. He is considered an enforcer, a player who protects others, and he is glad to have the responsibility of protecting three players--Sidney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin, and Jordan Stall. He welcomes the opportunity to do what he does best. He is determined to be the best he can be, because he can also score goals. He can stand tall behind the net, because he is too big to be dislodged, and can pass the puck to goal scorers. This makes him capable of collecting points for goals and assists. He can also stand in front of goaltenders as a huge screen while others score. This gives him a plus percentage on the ice. In other words, more goals are scored than given up when he is on the ice.

Before Georges Laraque came to Pittsburgh, there was a standoff between the Penguins and the people of the Hill District. Now it's not so black and white; it's getting a bit gray.