there is a giant problem within the hrpf fandom that has yet to be addressed, and it stems from both racism and ignorance. there is a lack of inclusion of black players in rpf fics/fandom.
the rpf fandom is very interesting. there is a constant rotation of white boys of the month, and even during off season you cannot look at hockey without the mention of one of these guys. people post in flurries hoping for scrapes of their guys, for a sign of life. can relate to the sentiment, except for one little fact: my fav player is black, and it is a rarity if he is mentioned.
quinton byfield of the la kings has made history: he was the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, and with that he became the highest drafted black person in nhl history. the la kings post about him, hte fans post about him, but there is a lack in the greater nhl fandom. he should be making waves, but he is not. quinton is among his fellow black players in this regard.
there are few black players in the nhl, but there are black players ā and somehow those players are rarely talked about and almost treated as non existent. with quinton, i have never seen such a high round picked player talked about so little. the kings organization talks about him, and so do kings fans, but no one else does. itās like people donāt know he exists; but some fifth round pick would be talked about endlessly because heās white, and those are the facts. there is this acceptance of whiteness, and almost blanket of it. white people are more āblorboāāable to the fandom, which is a mostly white space. they are almost more appealing because they are the ādefaultā of sports and spaces. they are familiar, what society gravitates towards. the rpf fandom grapples onto these white boys without paying their black colleagues a passing glance.
this is racism, and it is also ignorance.
those who do not talk about black players probably believe they arenāt racist, and maybe they arenāt, but there is ignorance within them they do not recognize. because of the white default fandoms choose their favs in groups, in the same select of white people ā and it is less racism but more-so the fact they do not realize black players are even an option. these years of white people at the forefront have lead fandom to choose them without broadening their options, because no one has taken a second and thought otherwise.
with quinton byfield this blanket of whiteness is apparent. he is the most blorbo player i have laid eyes on. that man is a high draft pick, and he acts the more homoerotic with his teammates; more than i have seen his white counterparts do. below is some evidence:
this is a video of quinton kissing darcy kuemper after their overtime win over the st. louis blues. this kiss is not unique to this instance. quinton kisses darcy after every win. he hugs and kisses him. every, single. win. this display is something that players never do.
i watch quinton kiss darcy and i know for a fact that if a white hockey unknown, on a team less talked about, were to do this tumblr would be in shambles for weeks. the players popularity would sky rocket and heād become well known in a matter of seconds.itād be a renaissance. heād be the new white boy of the month ā the new blorbo to fixate over. this would tear the internet apart, but that simply does not happen for quinton because he is not the aesthetic appeal that people want.
this isnāt to say that quinton doesnāt get attention ā he does! someone pointed out this situation wonderfully: people are happy to give a little reblog and throw quinton a like, but they never go beyond that. the engagement is shallow, and no one actively decides to look deeper into quinton. they are satisfied with scrolling past him because he isnāt what they imagine, what theyāre looking for, nor what they want. and itās crazy because he hits so many markers for a rpf blorbo. he was a high round pick (almost THE highest), is a young fresh player, has had the goal of the year once and had the third highest goal this year, was picked for the canadian olympic orientation camp, is shirtless in all postgame photos (and constantly draping himself across his teammates), and such a social butterfly. below are photos and gifs:
arenāt his narratives compelling? arenāt his accomplishments and whimsy just as wonderful as the others?
he canāt even be rpfād because people cannot cross that barrier within their mind of his race, of the concept of someone who isnāt white being with another man. there are layers to this racism, to this ignorance. all of the photos, videos, and gifs displayed in this post would set hockeyblr on fire if quinton wasnāt black, if he was a medium popular white player who was drafted averagely in their class ā and this isnāt to dig at said players but to show the difference and grace they are granted.
quinton has achieved so much, is constantly proving himself to be one of the best, but a white man who hasnāt nearly done half the work he has will get more recognition before fandoms even dream of considering him.
the white blanket must be lifted. sincerely, a black hockey fan.
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