SVSU’s Office of Diversity Programs hosted an event featuring the documentary “Beyond Their Years,” highlighting the remarkable stories of sports trailblazers Herb Carnegie and Buck O’Neil in conjunction with Rico Philips, Director of Cultural Diversity and Inclusion for the Ontario Hockey League.
Recognizing their commitment to their respective games and advancing their visions, the film showcased the parallel lives of Carnegie, an ice hockey legend, and O’Neil, a baseball icon, who paved the way for future generations.
Carnegie, banned from the NHL, had a successful career playing senior hockey in Canada. He also founded Future Aces, one of Canada’s first hockey schools, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022, along with 13 other halls of fame.
Philips, while introducing the Saginaw Spirit Hockey players stressed the importance of education and personal growth.
“These are pro-level athletes and we say education comes first” Philips said as he recognized some players who were performing well academically.
The importance of education was also reflected in Carnegie`s story of building a school for his community and training everyone to uphold certain standards.
“Something I noticed in hockey is how all those players spoke differently in school” Philip remarked as he shared his story on how he came to play the game, “the racial slurs, the epitaphs and unfiltered conversations made me feel awkward but at the same time I saw how those kids felt hockey was a sanctuary where they felt comfortable speaking this way.”
Philips also held a Q&A with the Saginaw Spirit Hockey players asking them their thoughts on the documentary.
“I believe in tearing down the barriers as I started a program where I started training kids in [my hometown], Flint to play hockey”, Philips added in his thoughts on the scarcity of resources available to children in the region to play the game.
The event featured a screening at Malcolm Field Theatre in Curtiss Hall, followed by a live panel discussion moderated by Rico Phillips which was concluded by a reception.
Herb Carnegie’s daughter and grandson joined via Zoom, sharing heartfelt insights on his enduring legacy.
“Just like my grandfather, speak up whenever you see something that does not feel right even if it scares you.” Rene Carnegie, his grandson said to students.
Alice Yang, Director of The International Programs of SVSU was also in attendance and commented on the importance of intercultural understanding.
“Diversity and inclusion are part of the SVSU mission and value.” She said. “It is important for our students to learn about the history of the country and stories of people from diverse backgrounds in order to be prepared to work in the multicultural and interconnected world and practice social justice for a better world.”
The event was free and open to the public. For more information on diversity programs and events, visit SVSU Office of Diversity Programs.
