NHL creating 4 committees to address diversity issues in hockey

The NHL is creating four committees to help address diversity issues across all levels of the sport, executive vice president for social impact, growth initiatives, and legislative affairs Kim Davis told ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

The committees were first discussed at the Board of Governors meeting in December after multiple players shared stories about racial and physical abuse from their coaches.

With so many NHLers recently making public statements condemning racism in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody last week, Davis believes it's imperative to uphold the same message in the future.

"We know how unprecedented this is for our sport," Davis said. "How we capture that and keep that momentum going is really what I've been focused on. Two weeks from now, two months from now, two years from now ... how do we have this same feeling? How do we ensure that everybody feels that they can be a part of our sport?"

The Executive Inclusion Council - made up of five team owners, five team presidents, and two general managers to be named publicly at a later date - will take action on the recommendations from the other committees.

The Players Inclusion Committee will feature former and current players, as well as Canada and USA women's national team members. It will bring ideas to build "stronger pipelines" for youth in the sport.

The Fan Inclusion Committee will consist of chief marketing officers from NHL teams and a variety of partners to improve reaching out to underrepresented groups.

Lastly, the Youth Inclusion Committee will be made up of representatives from Hockey Canada and USA Hockey to make youth hockey more welcoming to children of color.