USA Hockey hits rock bottom
USA Hockey has officially hit rock bottom, but can they dig themselves out of the deep hole they’ve dug?
Back in 2010, USA Hockey was on top of the world. The United States men’s and women’s hockey teams each won a silver medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics. With young and exciting players on each team, the future appeared to be bright. Even after the Sochi Olympics disaster on the men’s side, at least the women won the silver medal again. For the first time in a while, the USA showed hints of catching up to Canada on top of the world.
Now it seems Team USA has hit rock bottom. The men’s team has disappointed. It’s been a long 36 years since the Miracle On Ice. Since then, the men’s team has won zero gold medals, two silver medals at the Olympics and four bronze medals in the IIHF World Championships. On the other hand, the women’s team has shown consistent growth. They’ve won 17 medals, including seven gold medals, in the IIHF World Championships since 1990.
Much like in soccer, the women have been far more successful than the men. However, just like in soccer, it’s once again the women getting the short end of the stick. Citing unfair wages, the ladies are boycotting the upcoming IIHF World Championships starting on March 31. In the past, they’ve gotten about $1,000 a month from Team USA, but this is only during a six-month period leading up to the Olympics.
“We are asking for a living wage and for USA Hockey to fully support its programs for women and girls and stop treating us like an afterthought,” said team captain Meghan Duggan, via ESPN. “We have represented our country with dignity and deserve to be treated with fairness and respect.”
This is a huge deal for a variety of reasons. First of all, the women’s team are the defending world champions. Their boycott leads to a very complicated situation. It’s one the IIHF will have to solve and it’s also one which will affect their credibility. The United States relationship and standing in the IIHF could be in question from here on out. It’s no secret they have a significant influence on the Olympics, so the United States will likely get screwed there. And rightfully so.
Instead of trying to provide fair wages to a fine group of ladies who have represented their country very well, Team USA is instead trying to find replacements from the NCAA and NWHL. This went about as well as anyone could have expected, with players standing in solidarity with the national team.
Team USA has gone as far as to ask people playing in beer leagues and Division III hockey. Surprisingly, they aren’t getting any help there either.
“They said USA Hockey is having a final meeting Monday, and if the national team is still boycotting, we need you to report Wednesday,” an anonymous player said, via ESPN. “What I kept going back to is, ‘How do I say no, but how do I say yes?’ I mean, I just play in a beer league. I just play for fun now, I don’t train like I did in college. It’s insane.”
Think about this for a second. USA Hockey would rather see inferior hockey players represent them on an international level than pay fair wages to their best players. Women athletes face a seemingly eternal uphill battle to play just about any sport. They are consistently treated as inferior to men. The women’s team doesn’t get many of the perks the men’s team gets.
But don’t think this is all about money. This is about a group of strong women wanting to get some respect. In a recent interview with Puck Daddy, Duggan spoke about the motivation behind the boycott.
"The biggest piece to me, and to the rest of the team, I think is getting across to them is that it’s 2017, and we’re not going to be underestimated anymore. We don’t want to be an afterthought. This is important for the young girls and the future of this program that these things change."
In today’s society, it’s hard to find good role models for young athletes to look up to. But Duggan and the women’s national team are stepping up to the plate. It’s hard to see how this can turn out well for USA Hockey. There’s only one outcome that won’t make them looking terrible. They have to provide fair wages to the women’s national team and treat them with some respect. Luckily, the men’s national team is reportedly going to give them one heck of an incentive to do so.
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Maybe the men’s team standing in solidarity with their comrades will provide a wake-up call for the necessary people. For the sake of the future of USA Hockey, let’s hope this situation gets solved sooner than later.