Capitals unveil 'Celebrating Black History' specialty jersey

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Tarik El-Bashir witnessed a first in his 20-plus years covering the Washington Capitals.

“I'm not sure I ever expected to see kente cloth on the Capitals jersey,” said El-Bashir, a hockey analyst on Washington’s Monumental Sports Network and a contributor to the “NHL on TNT.” “But I’ve got to say, this is pretty amazing.”

The Capitals unveiled their “Celebrating Black History” jersey at their practice facility on Wednesday and hosted a panel discussion about pathways to hockey as well as a skate for a group of students, faculty and staff from Howard University, a historically Black institution in Washington.

The front of the gray jersey features the Capitals’ primary logo. The letter “t,” which depicts a hockey stick, is adorned with a kente pattern.

The colors of the three stars -- red, yellow and green -- above the “Capitals” script represent the unity of the Pan-African flag.

The numbers on the back of the jersey and sleeves also feature kente patterns, a nod to Black history and the legacy of historically Black colleges and universities.

With roots in Ghana, kente is a silk and cotton fabric made of interwoven strips of cloth with colorful patterns. It was traditionally a symbol of royalty, but over time it has come to mark special moments like weddings, births, graduations and funerals.

It also has been incorporated in sports previously. Georgetown University’s men’s basketball team uniforms had kente patterns on them in the 1990s.

The jersey also has the Capitals’ 50th anniversary patch on the left shoulder and a logo for The Museum DC, which designed the jersey, on the right.

The Museum DC logo’s colors pay homage to the original colors for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s rail lines: red, yellow, green, blue and orange.

"We at The Museum DC are thrilled to collaborate with the Washington Capitals to design this year’s Black History Month specialty jersey,” said Nyrik Lee Sr., The Museum DC’s chief branding officer. “This jersey is a celebration of heritage, culture, and community, and we look forward to building a lasting and impactful relationship with the Capitals organization."

Jerseys signed by all players on the Capitals’ 2024-25 roster will be auctioned off by the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation to benefit the Capitals Capital Impact Fund, which was created in 2020 to provide grants to organizations that can assist in lowering cost barriers faced by people of color in the hockey community.

The auction is open at washcaps.com/BHAuction and will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. Last season’s Celebrating Black History Auction raised $41,450 for the impact fund.

The jersey unveiling also was a hockey seminar for several of the Howard attendees. They listened to El-Bashir, retired Capitals forward turned broadcaster Devante Smith Pelly, and The Museum DC’s LeGreg Harrison and Lee talk about the sport and opportunities for people of color in it.

They also heard from Duante Abercrombie, a Washington native who is the coach of Tennessee State University’s NCAA Division I men’s hockey team, which will be the first HBCU hockey team when it debuts in October.

Abercrombie began playing hockey as a child for the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club in Washington and coached for Stevenson University, an NCAA Division III school near Baltimore, and the Washington Little Capitals. He’s also been a coaching development associate or guest coach for the San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Arizona Coyotes.

“Representation matters. Making things tangible absolutely matters,” Abercrombie told the audience before mentioning two former NHL forwards who were inspirations to him. “The moment I saw Anson Carter with dreads hanging out the side of his helmet, Mike Grier coming over to Fort Dupont, which was called ‘The Fort’ back in the day, I saw myself represented. Now Mike Grier, who inspired me when I was younger, is the first-ever Black general manager of the San Jose Sharks, the first in the NHL history. That’s something that is inspiring me to want to go further.”

The conversation was reaffirming for Chelsea McIsaac, a 19-year-old Howard biology manager. She’s a member of the Howard figure skating team, the first HBCU skating team, which took part in its first competition last February.

“You don’t see a lot of people of color in ice sports, so to bring awareness to show that people like us can do sports like this warms my heart,” she said. “People of color can be ice skaters, they can be hockey players. They can be anything they set their mind to.”

Robin Tate, a 20-year-old broadcast major at Howard, said the jersey unveiling and panel discussion made her a hockey fan.

“I’m usually more a football, basketball, soccer type of girl just growing up,” Tate said. “After this, I’ve found a new love for hockey, and I want to get into it.”