Two Black men are set to make history in the National Hockey League, by forming the first-ever all-Black broadcasting team.
J.T. Brown and Everett Fitzhugh will officially make history when they announce the Seattle Kraken February 17 game against the Winnipeg Jets.
News of this historic feat was first announced Wednesday (February 9) by The Athletic's Ryan S. Clark.
Brown played professional hockey for 11 years –– seven of those years in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, and Minnesota Wild. The 31-year-old is currently the Kraken's TV analyst alongside John Forslund who is the team's play-by-play announcer.
"Just being a part of it is crazy to think about," Brown told Clark. "Any time something like this happens, I think about a year ago and ask, 'Would I have thought this where my path would be?' Here we are. We did know this was eventually going to happen at some point."
Fitzhugh is the Kraken's radio voice, and has extensive experience in calling games, including calling games for the Cincinnati Cyclones and working as the team's radio broadcaster.
"I've been trying to wrap my head around it," he told Clark. "It might be one of those situation where it hits me in that moment. It's something that has never happened before to have two Black men commenting on an NHL game together in the same booth ... I know that is special and it is a big deal. But it will truly not hit me until I start doing that game."
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