Jordan Subban and what black players deal with in the NHL

For many black NHL players there are times when their race is a bigger story than their performance on the ice.

This week, The Vancouver Sun published a photo caption that referenced Canucks prospect Jordan Subban as the "dark guy in the middle."

The Vancouver Sun has apologized, saying it will take steps to make sure something like that does not happen again.

While Subban had scored a goal, the big story was the insensitive caption.

Jordan's brother P.K., a defenceman with the Montreal Canadiens has also had his accomplishments diminished by a racial controversy

After scoring a deciding goal agains the Boston Bruins last year in the playoffs, a group of Bruins fans responded by directing racial slurs at Subban on social media.

The incident was serious enough to make Bruins president Cam Neely release a statement condemning the racist comments.

In 2012, some Bruins fans targeted Washington Capitals forward Joel Ward with racist tweets after he scored an overtime winner agains Boston.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds had a banana peel thrown at him during a shootout attempt in 2011. Simmonds eventually said he would no longer comment on the incident in the media.

While whoever wrote the Vancouver Sun caption may not have had racist intent, the insensitive caption had the same effect of creating a controversy where Subban being black is more important than how he plays hockey.

I do not blame the media for covering these stories, because I believe these issues deserve public discussion. I hope high-profile incidents like the ones I mentioned stop happening.

I look forward to the day when black players can just play hockey without having to answer questions about being black.