Do Status Characteristic-Based Stereotypes Influence Opportunities in Monoracial Settings? The Case of the National Hockey League

Research on positional segregation in sport focuses on mechanisms perpetuating discrepancies in integrated contexts, including in majority-minority sports. However, theoretical explanations for positional segregation should apply to other status groups, such as ethnicity, that may be more salient in monoracial or nearly monoracial settings. We use 2018 to 2019 data on 790 NHL players and executives along with descriptive models previously applied to questions of racial segregation in sport to evaluate if stereotypes have led to ethnicity-based differences in athletes’ outcomes, using on-ice positions, leadership positions, team management positions, and penalty minutes related to stereotypes in playing style. Results show no evidence for ethnic stacking nor barriers to player leadership in the NHL but substantial differences in team management positions and penalty minutes. Our findings illuminate the degree to which theories concerning racial stereotyping mechanisms might be extended to apply in monoracial settings. Plain language summary Much research has shown that stereotypes linked to race are connected to the ways athletes are positioned on competitive fields or courts. This can in turn lead to limited opportunities for minority athletes in terms of endorsement or leadership opportunities. We are interested in whether the theories used to explain these patterns in reference to race can be used to examine the opportunities available to other minority groups. In this paper, we use data on 790 professional hockey players to see whether ethnic stereotypes lead to similar patterns in a mostly-white setting. We use descriptive methods traditionally used to examine spatial distributions of racial minorities in sport along with models that examine access to leadership positions to see how ethnic stereotypes might be used. We also use penalty minutes to try to identify patterns of ethnic stereotypes connected to playing style. We find little evidence that ethnic stereotypes affect player position or leadership opportunities in this mostly-white sport, but good evidence that ethnic stereotypes affect off-ice leadership opportunities and on-ice playing styles. While intriguing, these data cannot examine specific interactions involving stereotypes that players might experience. Our approach here could also be applied to other status groups, such as gender, sexual orientation, or age.