{"id":636,"date":"2011-06-22T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2011-06-22T12:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/?p=636"},"modified":"2011-10-04T22:53:07","modified_gmt":"2011-10-05T02:53:07","slug":"nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html","title":{"rendered":"A conversation with NHL All-Star Jarome Iginla"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share with your friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jarome Iginla (Photo courtesy of Calgary Flames)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 14 seasons, Iginla has appeared in six All-Star Games, led the league in scoring once and set Calgary records for goals, points and games played. On the ice, he\u2019s also known as one the NHL\u2019s fiercest competitors.<\/p>\n

But when the Calgary Flames right wing unlaces his skates, he is perhaps just as notorious for being one of the game\u2019s nicest guys. Iginla participates in many community events and donates $2,000 to charity for every goal he scores. In this interview, he talks about his unique upbringing, being black in the NHL and how a troubling question drew him closer to God:<\/p>\n

Chad Bonham: You\u2019ve won two Olympic gold medals for Canada, but I would imagine that first one at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002 must have been pretty special since it broke a 50-year drought for your home country.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jarome Iginla donates $2,000 to charity for every goal he scores (Photo courtesy of Calgary Flames)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jarome Iginla: That\u2019s one the best experiences I\u2019ve had in hockey. I got a chance to play with Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman and Joe Sacik. It\u2019s a big adjustment. You go from playing against them to seeing your jersey hanging in the same room as theirs. It was difficult not to be in awe. Then we ended up winning the tournament. I remember the first day showing up and seeing all those jerseys hanging and seeing mine over in the corner. I was one of the younger guys and I had a makeshift area because there weren\u2019t enough lockers. But it was a huge thrill and I think I probably took a picture or something.<\/p>\n

The gold medal game against the U.S. team probably the most exciting game I\u2019ve been a part of. It was so fast. The fans were so passionate. Half of them were American fans and the other half was Canadian. They were going at it the whole game. It was such a good game. You get on the ice and go as hard as you can. You don\u2019t have time to be nervous. You get off the ice and you\u2019re nervous again because you\u2019re watching as a fan. You want to win the gold medal so bad. It turned out the way we wanted it to turn out. It was every emotion\u2014nervousness, excitement and adrenaline\u2014all in one game.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Tell me about your unique upbringing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Iginla with his mother Susan Schuchard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Iginla: My parents divorced when I was one year old. (My mother has) always been Buddhist so that\u2019s a little unique. Growing up I didn\u2019t have a lot of other friends that had Buddhist parents. So, yeah there was (some confusion). My mom was very good about it. She was very open. In that area I had a lot of questions because (Buddhists) do believe in different things. She didn\u2019t force it on me by any means.<\/p>\n

Bonham: When did you first start to get serious about your Christian faith?<\/p>\n

Iginla: My dad was raised Muslim but became a Christian after moving from Africa to Canada. I’ve always believed in God but I remember one time I was traveling on a juniors hockey trip and my roommate asked me, “What if there is no God? What if you die and it\u2019s just black?\u201d I just kept telling him, “No, there has to be a God!” But he got me thinking and it actually scared me for a little bit. I\u2019d never really thought about it that deep. It was just from what I\u2019d read. I\u2019d never thought about it personally. So that bothered me and I tried not to think about that for a while. About a year later, I went to my dad to talk about it. He told me I should ask God to take my fears away. If I felt peace after praying, I would have proof that God exists. That\u2019s probably my defining moment. I\u2019m peaceful with that (question) now. That was probably the most bothersome question that I can ever remember asking myself. When my dad told me that, it was probably the start of my own personal relationship. My dad has always been the biggest influence on my faith.<\/p>\n

Bonham: As one of the longer-standing black athletes in the NHL that has less than 30 currently playing, do you feel like a trailblazer for others pursuing opportunities in professional hockey?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Iginla gets his teammates ready for action (Photo courtesy of Calgary Flames)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Iginla: When I grew up, I was the only black kid on my team. I was aware of that. I really was. I was very fortunate. My teammates were always great. But sometimes there\u2019d be a small incident here or there with another team or with some parents in the crowd. Some kids would say, \u201cWhy are you trying to be in the NHL? There\u2019s no black players in the NHL.\u201d I remember those questions back then and honestly, it meant so much to me to be able to say, \u201cOh yeah, there are black players in the NHL.\u201d Grant Fuhr at the time was starring in Edmonton and winning Stanley Cups and he was an All-Star. Then I did try to pick out as many black players in the NHL so I could have somebody. I watched Claude Vilgrain who played in New Jersey or Tony McKegney. I am proud to be a black player in the NHL. I know how much those other guys meant to me so maybe there\u2019s kids that are having similar questions asked of them or maybe they\u2019re having some tough times. It would be an honor if I was at all a role model for kids that want to play in the NHL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share with your friends! In 14 seasons, Iginla has appeared in six All-Star Games, led the league in scoring once and set Calgary records for goals, points and games played. On the ice, he\u2019s also known as one the NHL\u2019s fiercest competitors. But when the Calgary Flames right wing unlaces his skates,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[111,300,303,301,298,306,304,9,307,305,302,299],"class_list":["post-636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-athletes","category-sports-features","tag-calgary-flames","tag-canada","tag-claude-vilgrain","tag-grant-fuhr","tag-jarome-iginla","tag-joe-sacik","tag-mario-lemieux","tag-nhl","tag-salt-lake-city","tag-steve-yzerman","tag-tony-mckegney","tag-winter-olympics"],"yoast_head":"\nA conversation with NHL All-Star Jarome Iginla - Inspiring Athletes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A conversation with NHL All-Star Jarome Iginla - Inspiring Athletes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Click “Like” to share with your friends! In 14 seasons, Iginla has appeared in six All-Star Games, led the league in scoring once and set Calgary records for goals, points and games played. On the ice, he\u2019s also known as one the NHL\u2019s fiercest competitors. But when the Calgary Flames right wing unlaces his skates,…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Inspiring Athletes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-06-22T12:00:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-10-05T02:53:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/06\/jarome_iginla_mug-01-200x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chad Bonham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A conversation with NHL All-Star Jarome Iginla - Inspiring Athletes","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A conversation with NHL All-Star Jarome Iginla - Inspiring Athletes","og_description":"Click “Like” to share with your friends! In 14 seasons, Iginla has appeared in six All-Star Games, led the league in scoring once and set Calgary records for goals, points and games played. On the ice, he\u2019s also known as one the NHL\u2019s fiercest competitors. But when the Calgary Flames right wing unlaces his skates,…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html","og_site_name":"Inspiring Athletes","article_published_time":"2011-06-22T12:00:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-10-05T02:53:07+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/06\/jarome_iginla_mug-01-200x300.jpg"}],"author":"Chad Bonham","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html","name":"A conversation with NHL All-Star Jarome Iginla - Inspiring Athletes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/06\/jarome_iginla_mug-01-200x300.jpg","datePublished":"2011-06-22T12:00:08+00:00","dateModified":"2011-10-05T02:53:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#\/schema\/person\/95c3e9443bb9bfa81645d8daef1193c1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/06\/jarome_iginla_mug-01-200x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/06\/jarome_iginla_mug-01-200x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhl-all-star-jarome-iginla-on-his-unique-upbringing-being-black-in-the-nhl-and-what-drives-him-to-serve-others.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A conversation with NHL All-Star Jarome Iginla"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/","name":"Inspiring Athletes","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Chad Bonham","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#\/schema\/person\/95c3e9443bb9bfa81645d8daef1193c1","name":"Chad Bonham","description":"Chad has been working in mass media for over 20 years. Chad\u2019s professional journey began at the University of Tulsa where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (1993) while working extensively in athletic media relations and serving as a sports editor for The Collegian. Since then, he has written extensively for such publications as Relevant, CCM, Christian Retailing, New Man, Charisma, Today\u2019s Christian, Ministries Today, Breakaway, Brio, Sports Spectrum, Christian Single, Faith & Friends, Sharing the Victory and Gospel Today. He has authored, co-authored or ghost written and edited 13 books including Life in the Fairway (New Leaf Press), Glory of the Games (Cross Training), Wrestling with God (River Oak), Spiritual Journeys (Relevant) and the four-part Fellowship of Christian Athletes Core Value Series; Excellence, Teamwork, Serving and Integrity (Regal Books). Chad is currently working on five new books including Sooner Legacy, Husker Legacy and Lessons From Sooner Football (Cross Training) as well as The Faith of Stock Car Racing (Judson Press). When he's not writing, Chad lends his efforts to various independent television and film projects. He was the coordinating producer for Choosing Life (2010) and Life Happens (2011). Chad is currently serving as producer on a forthcoming documentary about Super Bowl champion Brian Kinchen. Chad and his wife Amy live in Broken Arrow, Okla., with sons Lance (September 2003), Cole (February 2008) and Quinn (February 2011).","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/author\/cbonham"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1737,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions\/1737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}