Willie O'Ree Congressional Gold Medal Act
This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O'Ree or, if unavailable, to a member of his family, in recognition of his contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2249 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2249
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O'Ree, in recognition of
his extraordinary contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion,
and recreational opportunity.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 26, 2021
Mr. Quigley (for himself, Mr. Emmer, Mr. Higgins of New York, Mr.
Katko, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Young, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Casten,
Mr. Bucshon, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Allred, Ms. Barragan,
Mr. Auchincloss, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Stauber, Ms.
Pressley, and Mr. Rush) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O'Ree, in recognition of
his extraordinary contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion,
and recreational opportunity.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Willie O'Ree Congressional Gold
Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Willie O'Ree was the first Black player to compete in
the National Hockey League (NHL), appearing for the Boston
Bruins on January 18, 1958, in the throes of the civil rights
movement in the United States helping to end racial segregation
in the premier professional ice hockey league; he is widely
referred to as the ``Jackie Robinson of Hockey''.
(2) Willie O'Ree was born October 15, 1935, in Fredericton,
New Brunswick, Canada; he is the youngest of 13 children and a
descendant of Paris O'Ree, whose name appears in the famous
historical document ``The Book of Negroes''.
(3) Willie O'Ree was raised by his parents in Fredericton,
a predominantly White town where hockey was deeply rooted
within the culture. O'Ree was a standout athlete on the ice and
the baseball diamond.
(4) At age 21, O'Ree was being scouted by professional
baseball teams and seriously considered baseball as a career.
Upon experiencing the segregated South for the first time while
appearing for a minor league tryout, his dream changed and his
attention turned solely to ice hockey.
(5) While playing amateur hockey, Willie was struck in his
right eye with a puck and lost his eyesight. He was told by
doctors to abandon his hockey career; instead, never disclosing
the extent of his injury, he pursued his dream of playing
professional hockey.
(6) At the age of 22, O'Ree was called up from the Quebec
Aces of the Quebec Hockey League (QHL) to play for the NHL's
Boston Bruins at a time when only 6 teams existed in the
league. O'Ree was unaware he had broken the color barrier at
the top level of the sport until he read it in the newspaper
the following day.
(7) Blind in 1 eye and a victim of racism at times
throughout his career, O'Ree persevered and played professional
hockey for 22 years, tallying over 1,000 points.
(8) In 1996, 17 years after O'Ree retired from professional
hockey, the National Hockey League hired O'Ree as the first-
ever Diversity Ambassador. Having already changed the game
forever through his courage and convictions, O'Ree gives new
definition to what it means to be a trailblazer.
(9) In this role as Diversity Ambassador with the NHL,
O'Ree set out to grow the sport by providing access,
opportunity, and motivation for children of all races,
ethnicities, origins, and abilities. With O'Ree providing a
vivid example of what is possible and serving as a relentless
supporter of children pursuing their dreams, more than 30
nonprofit youth organizations, dubbed Hockey is for Everyone
programs, were developed across North America, each committed
to offering minority and underserved children an opportunity to
play hockey, leveraging the sport to build character, foster
positive values, and develop important life skills.
(10) Through Hockey is for Everyone programs, more than
120,000 boys and girls have been positively impacted. O'Ree has
devoted nearly 2,500 days on the ground with the youth
participants, visiting more than 500 schools, community
centers, and rinks to speak to hockey's core values and
beliefs: stay in school; set goals for yourself; remain
committed and disciplined; and always respect your teammates,
coaches, and parents.
(11) Hockey is for Everyone programs have provided
important opportunities for youth to partake in physical
fitness. Today in the United States, fewer than half of the
children ages 6-11 engage in the recommended amount of physical
activity, and that number is lower for low-income families.
O'Ree has stood as a champion of youth athletic participation
and its health benefits for decades.
(12) Hockey is for Everyone programs provide numerous off-
ice services to youth: SAT and academic tutoring, mentoring,
nutrition education, college counseling, community service
opportunities, and more. The program has excelled at using
hockey as a vehicle to improve the social and emotional
wellness of youth and improve students' academic performances
both in primary school and beyond.
(13) O'Ree was also named a Member of the Order of Canada
in 2008 and, in 2018, the City of Boston released an official
Proclamation recognizing January 18, the anniversary of the day
he broke into the game, as ``Willie O'Ree Day''.
(14) In November 2018, 60 years after O'Ree entered the
NHL, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the
``builder'' category in recognition of his efforts to grow the
game, using his position and the platform of hockey to improve
the lives of children throughout North America.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate
arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold
medal of appropriate design to Willie O'Ree, or if unavailable, to a
member of his family, in recognition of his extraordinary contributions
and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medal with
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the
Secretary. The design shall bear an image of, and an inscription of the
name of, Willie O'Ree.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal
struck under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the
medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line