Judge a man not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., today has become a day of service. We think of all that MLK was able to do for the betterment of our country and, in his name, spread some goodwill of our own. It’s nice to do this, but it’s one day of the year.

There’s one man who embodies the spirit of MLK, not just today but every day, and is just as humble as our fearless leader.

If you follow ice hockey history, you might have heard his name. And, if you’re like me and have no interest in that particular sport, you can’t help but marvel at Willie O’Ree, the first black National Hockey League (NHL) player who played in 1958 for the Boston Bruins.

His story touched me because he won’t even talk about the racism he had to endure. Like racism, he kept a secret that he was blind in one eye.

After a seemingly innocent eye injury in a game, (back then they didn’t wear helmets) the doctor said Willie shattered the retina in his eye, and he’d never play ice hockey again,

But he didn’t let that stop him from attaining his goal of being in the NHL that he’d set for himself at 14. He was back in the rink in 3 weeks.

He only told his sister and swore her to secrecy. His mom would have been too upset because she always worried about him getting hurt, and the NHL wouldn’t consider taking him in that condition.

So, according to my friend, who has had conversations with him in person, Willie was a winger and asked his coach if he could switch to the other side so his blind eye would be to the outside of the rink.

Think of how Boston treated Bill Russell in basketball (a sport that was more accepting of blacks, if only because of the stereotype that blacks were supposed to be able to play it).

But Willie doesn’t talk about what he had to endure to play the all-white sport he loved with players and fans who disrespected him.

His story’s insane. The NHL found him working at a fast food store years after his lifetime accomplishment. He did whatever he had to do to support his family.

They asked him to be a youth ambassador–ever since, he made it his life mission to give back and get youth off the streets and onto the rinks.

So I watched the documentary on him and how a close friend compiled 300 stories of people he had touched to get him instated in the Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in 2018.

I didn’t learn nearly enough about this great man in this documentary, because I could have watched hours more to learn about him, but from what I could gather, he’s a living example of the humility of Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s not like I like ice hockey. It never did anything for me, even as a kid. It was just a bunch of white men.

And talking to someone who works for the Western Hockey League, I must have blurted out, “How many blacks are even playing ice hockey today?”

Maybe 30 or 40, not that I know the number of NHL players in the league to compare statistics.

But Willie, who grew up with Martin Luther King, Jr. as his teacher, didn’t see a bunch of whites on the ice. He only saw the white of the ice.

What marvelous humility he has to have persevered through the toughest of times and come out on the other side wanting nothing more than to help get youths off the street.

Like he says to the youth, “Names will never hurt you unless you let them.”

And then he quotes Martin Luther King, Jr. “Judge a man not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.”

What a great lesson in humility and service for us all. But Willie says it best, “We have barriers to break and knock down, opportunities to give.”