Discrimination against French-Canadians in the National Hockey League: An Anthropometric Revision

Discrimination against French-Canadians in the National Hockey League: An Anthropometric Revision John Cranfield, 1 Kris Inwood, 2 J. Andrew Ross 3 Introduction Discrimination based on ethnicity and race has been extensively studied for its effects on professional sports recruitment, salary levels and segregation (Kahn 1991). In many American major league sports (basketball, football, baseball) the issue has been racial discrimination, but in major league hockey, which has historically been based on Canadian players, the discrimination has been ethnic and, in the period before 1970, overt. Our research question is whether there is a persisting discrimination against an ethniclinguistic group, Francophones (French-Canadians, who form a majority in the province of Quebec, but a linguistic and ethnic minority in Canada), after 1970s, and if so, which factors explain it. Literature Review In the 1970s Marple (1975) and Boileau and Boulanger (1982) identified an apparent underrepresentation of Francophones in the National Hockey League. In the 1980s the issue was taken up by Lavoie, Grenier, and Coulombe (1987, 1989), who found that while by some measures French Canadian (and European) skaters (i.e., non-goalies) performed better than English Canadian and American players, they were underrepresented in the NHL, suggesting that overt discrimination by general managers, 1 Professor, Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Guelph 2 Professor, Department of Economics and Department of History, University of Guelph 3 (corresponding author) Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of History, University of Guelph (50 Stone Road, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1, Tel: 519-824-4120 x 52279, jaross@uoguelph.ca) 1

coaches, and scouts. 4 The existence of Francophone underrepresentation and discrimination, the character and the motive were subject to debate. Krashinsky and Krashinsky (1997) noted that the prejudice hypothesis did not explain why Lavoie et al. found a difference between positions, and they posited that the reason for the discrimination was the language (cultural) costs of players adapting to bilingualism, which varied by position. 5 A much stronger critique of Lavoie et al. was rendered by Walsh (1992), who argued that while discrimination against Francophones was systemic, it was coincidental due to the high priority placed on large-sized players. Examining players from the three amateur leagues that at that time provided the main source of NHL recruits, Walsh noted that players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) were significantly smaller than those from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL). Since the majority of QMJHL players were Francophone, he concluded that the NHL clubs were selecting players by size but inadvertently excluding Francophones because they tended to be smaller on average. In the 1990s researchers turned mostly to looking at salary discrimination, and the results were mixed. Jones and Walsh (1988), Lavoie and Grenier (1992), and McLean and Veall (1992) found no significant salary discrimination, but intriguingly Longley (1995, 1997) found that there was an indication that Canadian teams outside Quebec were paying lower salaries to Francophones. Later, he focused on the segregation issue that Canadian teams outside Quebec were discriminating and compared the proportions of games played by Francophones for Quebec, American and Canadian non-quebec teams, as well as the draft behaviour of the teams (Longley 2000). He argued that none of the existing explanations of discrimination (language or cultural costs, and body size) could account for the difference, and noted that the degree of social and political tension between English and French Canada seemed to be reflected in the temporal patterns that he found. Longley (2003) dismissed as explanations the ethnic origin of NHL 4 For Europeans, they concluded that the reservation wage theory was at work. 5 Krashinsky and Krashinsky (1997) argued that goalies required less coaching, defencemen more, and forwards the least, and this corresponds to the degree of discrimination found by position. Lavoie et al. (1997) responded to this argument. 2

coaches and general managers and the behaviour of individual teams and concluded that it was actually customer preference that was the the only variable that seems able to explain this underrepresentation. 6 Lavoie (2003), however, concluded that it was not English Canadian but American teams that were discriminating against French Canadian players. 7 One limitation of the current discrimination studies is that they use only small datasets of players from one or two seasons (this is especially true for salary discrimination studies, where salary information is limited to the post-1990 era). The most important missing element is that research has not adequately considered the role of physical size of players. The idea that body size is a contributing factor to discrimination has been quickly dismissed or ignored (e.g., Longley 2000, Lavoie 2003) and they have implicitly assumed that the base populations from which hockey players are drawn are homogeneous. Only Walsh (1992) allowed for size being a contributing factor and though he speculated that the underlying reason that Quebec Francophone players were smaller might be possibility that this was a characteristic of the base population he did not attempt confirm it. None of the studies to date specifically addresses the possibility that long-term historical trends in the growth in physical size of players over the decades, and concurrent regional variations, may have an important role to play in explaining the discrimination phenomenon. Recent advances in the study of the anthropometric characteristics of base populations holds promise for application to hockey player discrimination. Ross, Cranfield and Inwood (submitted) have shown that Quebec-born professional hockey players over the entire twentieth century were significantly smaller than players from the rest of Canada (1 cm shorter and 1.5 kg smaller than the Ontario-born). 8 Furthermore, this difference was not restricted to hockey players, but is congruent with other studies showing Quebec men from the base population were also relatively short by North American standards 6 This appears to contradict the finding in Longley (2000) that there was no hometown effect, i.e. that team were not showing a preference for more local players. 7 Teams in English Canada were discriminating against Europeans and Quebec teams did not appear to discriminate in favour of Francophones. 8 See Table 2 in Ross, Cranfield and Inwood. 3

(Cranfield and Inwood 2015; Cranfield, Inwood, and Kirk-Elleker 2009). 9 For good reason, the authors suggest that scholars examining the subject of regional, linguistic, racial or ethnic discrimination in hockey must in future reconsider physical dimensions of the source populations as a contributing factor in the explanation, and must take into account anthropometric factors when considering any possible biases of hockey player recruitment. (Ross, Cranfield, and Inwood, submitted) The historical context It is important to note that discrimination based on ethnicity was an accepted practice in the National Hockey League before 1970. This was for specific commercial reasons. Even before the NHL was formed in 1917, the club owners in Canadian elite commercial hockey saw value in creating a Quebec team composed of French-Canadiens in order to attract an audience from that quarter. The Canadien club was formed in Montreal for that purpose in 1909 and the club was given the first right of refusal over any French-Canadian players who came into the league. 10 Until 1938, the city of Montreal also had an English-Canadian team to represent that ethnic audience, and while both Montreal teams employed players from each side of linguistic/ethnic divide, they tended to maintain a certain ethnic majority. From 1938, the Canadiens were the only Montreal club remaining, but they still maintained a French-Canadian identity and continued to get preferential treatment from the league to sign players who had French- Canadian fathers. 11 In the post-second World War era the professional player recruitment system centered on sponsorship (financial subsidy) of amateur clubs. Young Canadian hockey players were particularly attracted to the clubs affiliated with Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, the only two Canadian 9 Note that these studies were on all Quebec men, including both Anglophones and Francophones, and no attempt was made to establish the specific ethnicity of the players born in Quebec. Also, consider that non-quebec men, a population that had much fewer French-Canadians, were taller on average than Quebec men, and that if we assume that English-Canadians in Quebec were of a similar height, the we can infer that the French-Canadian population was even shorter than the Quebec mean. 10 For details on the right of refusal, see Ross (2015). 11 The Ottawa Senators were located in a city with a significant French-Speaking component, but never made recruitment of French-Canadians a real priority (Ross 2008, Kitchen 2008). Quebec City also had a primarily Anglophone team until 1920. 4

teams. Influenced no doubt by broadcasting exposure (Canadiens in Quebec and Maple Leafs to the rest of the country), it comes as no surprise that French-Canadian players tended to self-select to play for the Canadiens organization, and English-Canadians for the Leafs. The marketing the clubs amplified this this ethnic profile. Of the four American NHL clubs, only Detroit Red Wings had a strong sponsorship system, and the others (Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, and New York Rangers) were often relegated to using marginal players and the leftovers from the clubs with deeper sponsorships systems. (This led to some oddities, such as it being more likely that a French-Canadian player, if unable to make the Canadiens, would wind up playing for an American team rather than Toronto.) Thus marketing (and to some extent, player agency) explains the existence of discrimination among the two Canadian teams the era before1967. While it might be possible to measure the extent of discrimination among American teams in this era, given the imbalance in sponsorship systems, not to mention the small number of players, it is inadvisable to try to compare the patterns of this era together with those of the post-1969 era (as Longley (2000) attempts to do). After 1967, analysis becomes easier. In this year the league doubled to twelves teams and eliminated the sponsorship system in favour of a Universal Amateur Draft, which allowed all NHL clubs to take turns selecting amateur players. 12 The Canadiens still maintained their priority right to French- Canadiens until 1969, after which the draft can be said to become truly universal, and so from this point one can treat the draft as a level playing field on which clubs over time had equal chances of obtaining players from all regions of the globe. The question then becomes: did clubs continue to discriminate against French-Canadians? 12 Technically, the NHL club was getting the exclusive right to negotiate a professional contract with the amateur. An Amateur Draft had been started in 1963, but only for non-sponsored players. The idea of an amateur draft itself was borrowed from American football and baseball. 5

Methodology In revisiting the discrimination use we focus on the point of entry into the league the universal draft. While others have focused on later performance or salary levels, we focus on the draft as a distinct point at which a club would decide to obtain the rights to a player Drafting decisions are made by general managers advised by scouts and eliminate the variables of coach opinion and how a player is later used. They reflect both economic and marketing considerations, including how a player is expected to perform on the ice (and contribute to winning) and to a lesser extent how consumers will respond to the player. If any discrimination should evident, it should be here. We use a use a historical database of 5130 players who: were drafted from 1970 to 2008, had weight and height information, and played at least one game in the NHL. 13 We divide players into country and Canadian region birthplace, and by playing position. For Quebec-born players, presumed ethnicity is ascribed based on surname of French, English or Other. The ascription of ethnicity is not without its problems, but one of the aims is to compare results with Longley, who uses this methodology. Findings and Discussion In Figure 1we see that most draftees are from Ontario, followed by Western Canada. Despite having at least about one-quarter of the Canadian population, players from Quebec comprise only 10% of the draftees, and since the majority of Quebeckers are French-Canadian, there appears to be clear underrepresentation. One possible explanation for this might be that Quebeckers (esp. the French-Canadians) are less likely to compete in hockey, and so would form a smaller talent pool from which to draw. Indeed, Quebec appears to have a lower per capita amateur hockey participation rate, but with on-fifth of Canada s total amateur hockey registrants, this is still well above the proportion of its NHL draftees. Still, a more systematic investigation of the number of players at each level in various provincial amateur 13 This database only includes draftees who played at least one game in the NHL. 6

hockey systems may be in order. 14 Another explanation is that there is either systemic or overt discrimination against French-Canadian hockey players continued into the Universal Draft era. Figure 1. Birthplace (Presumed Ethnicity) of NHL Draftees, 1969-2008 (first 12 rounds) 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Birthplace (presumed ethnicity) Ontario 24% Western Canada 22% USA 15% Europe 13% Quebec (all) 10% Quebec (French) 7% Other 4% Atlantic Canada 2% Quebec (English) 2% Quebec (Other) 1% Anecdotally, French players have been sullied with a reputation of being less-defensive-minded, which may have contributed to a subtle discriminatory preference. However, as Walsh (21992) noted, defensive skills and body size are correlated, and while the former is not easily quantified, the latter can be measured and tested over time. Indeed, NHL clubs have been shown to have a preference for taller and heavier players, with the preference changing over time and by playing position (Ross, Cranfield and Inwood (submitted)). 15 Our draft data confirms this preference for larger players. In Figure 2 we see that 14 The QMJHL is still considered one of the three elite junior leagues and from 2001 to 2013, Hockey Quebec, the umbrella group for Quebec amateur hockey leagues, consistently averaged 17-20% of the total male registrations in Canada. http://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/corporate/about/basics/registration.aspx 15 Walsh (1992) cites copious newspaper reports from just one season that show evidence of the preference for larger players. 7

in the first two rounds taller and heavier players are chosen, but by the third round the trend begins to normalize, so that the mean size of player stays more constant. Figure 2. Mean Height and Weight of NHL Draft Players, 1969-2008 (first 10 rounds) 202 200 198 196 194 192 190 73.4 73.2 73 72.8 72.6 72.4 72.2 72 71.8 Weight (lbs) Height (inches) 188 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 71.6 When we break this out by birthplace and presumed ethnicity, we begin to see a pattern. Figure 3 shows the birthplace (presumed ethnicity) of the draftees in order of size, and it is apparent that the Quebec French are the smallest group by both measures. Figure 3. Mean Height and Weight of NHL Draftees by Birthplace (Presumed Ethnicity), 1969-2008 (first 12 rounds) 8

73 72.8 72.6 72.4 72.2 72 71.8 71.6 71.4 200 198 196 194 192 190 188 186 Mean height Mean Weight Since there is a priority on size and the Quebec-born French are smallest, this suggests a plausible reason for the under-representation. There is another finding, however, that is very curious. When the average draft rank of each group is compared, we actually see that the Quebec-born French have a lower (better) mean draft rank than other groups (Figure 4). This suggests either that the Quebec-born French are in greater demand in the early rounds, or they are in less demand in the later rounds, or both. Since the Quebec (all) mean rank is very close to the Ontario rank, the former seems most likely that relatively more Quebec-born French players (i.e., the superstar players) are being drafted in greater numbers in the early rounds. In the later rounds, with all things being equal (e.g. in the absence of stellar amateur performance achievements) clubs are likely to choose the larger players, of which there tend be fewer Quebec-born French. 16 This analysis helps explain why Lavoie, Grenier, and Coulombe (1987, 1989), found that French Canadians in the NHL performed better than their English Canadian and American 16 When looking at other birthplaces, it may be notable that Americans and Europeans are the lowest, which could suggest that they are seen as longshots to: 1) make the league (usually Americans, who may be large but not as skilled as Canadians), or 2) choose to play in the league (often Europeans, who have their own domestic elite leagues). 9

comparisons. If fewer average skill Quebec-born French players were being chosen, the mean performance of the rest would be higher. Figure 4. Mean Draft Rank (Round) of NHL Draftees by Birthplace (Presumed Ethnicity), 1969-2008 (first 12 rounds) 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 The data can also be sorted by playing position. In Table 1 we see that the size differences are not apparently distorted by any one position, but that Quebec French are under-represented in the defence position in particular (where size is most valued), and over-represented in the goaltender position. Nonetheless, even in the latter position the Quebec French are shorter and much lighter than non-french players. The difference between right and left wingers is curious, as one would expect a similar distribution. 10

Table 1. Mean Height and Weight off NHL Draftees, French-Canadian and non-, 1970-2008 Non-French- French-Canadian Canadian Difference Pos. % H W % H W % H W C 21% 71.5 186 22% 72.2 192-1% -0.7-5.7 D 24% 73.2 200 31% 73.5 202-7% -0.3-1.7 G 17% 71.3 180 9% 72.2 187 8% -0.9-7.2 LW 21% 72.4 193 19% 72.7 197 2% -0.3-4.3 RW 17% 71.9 195 19% 72.5 196-2% -0.6-0.7 Longley consistently found that English-Canadian clubs discriminated against French-Canadians more than American clubs, a finding that he eventually ascribed to team response to consumer preferences (although Longley 2000 and 2003 do not seem consistent on this point). 17 When we look at the first 12 rounds of the draft from 1970 to 2008, we seem to find ample evidence that clubs prefer players from their own region. In Figure 5 we see that Quebec teams prefer Quebec French (but not other Quebec groups) and that other Canadian clubs prefer players from English Canada. 18 And when the Quebec French are analyzed alone (Figure 6), in the last decade it seems that even the remaining Quebec team (Montreal) lost interest in French-Canadians (in favour of Europeans (not shown)). 19 17 Lavoie found little difference between English-Canadian and American clubs. 18 Over the entire period the Montreal Canadiens were one Quebec NHL team, and from 1979 to 1995 the Quebec (City) Nordiques were a second team. 19 Longley (2000) also removed Ottawa Senators from the equation, on the grounds that they also prefer French Canadian players, but in this data removing Ottawa seemed to have little effect. 11

Figure 5. NHL Draftees By Team Location and by Birthplace (Presumed Ethnicity), 1970-2008 (first 12 rounds) 35.0% 30.0% Western Canada 25.0% 20.0% Ontario Quebec (French) Atlantic Canada 15.0% USA 10.0% 5.0% Europe Quebec (English) Quebec (Other) 0.0% Canada (outside Quebec) Quebec USA Other Figure 6. Quebec (French) NHL Draftees by Team Location, 1970-2008 (first 12 rounds) 90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 USA Canada (outside Quebec) Quebec 12

Conclusion Using a much larger database than others have relied upon, this study confirms the picture of discrimination that sees lower representation of French-Canadian Quebec-born in the NHL in the Universal Draft era (post-1970) for which reasonable comparisons can be made. Since we observe that Quebec-born French players in the sample are consistently smaller and lighter than those born in other regions of Canada, and other countries (and also other Quebec-born). Thus it seems clear that the discrimination against French-Canadians per se is attributable to a discrimination against smaller players in general. As Walsh put it, the underrepresentation of Francophone in the NHL is the indirect effect of the use by NHL teams of player size as a selection criterion. (1992, pg. 452). By showing the size variation across Canada, the selection of Quebec players can be seen within a larger process of regional recruitment, one that has changed from a pre-1970 tradition of overt ethnic discrimination (for commercial goals) to one whose greater consideration is skill and size, which favours Western Canadian and Ontario players (and later, Europeans). It is also unclear that another contention in the literature that English-Canadian clubs discriminated more than French-Canadian clubs is valid. Descriptively, the data do not seem to support this, but further investigation using regression analysis will be needed to settle this score. 13

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