From the field to the rink: How one hockey pro is bringing politics to the ice

After serving as a field organizer for a congressional campaign, Miye D’Oench hopes to challenge hockey's "privileged" culture.

ERICA AYALA
DEC 4, 2018, 8:00 AM

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY — Hockey pro Miye D’Oench tallied two assists last Sunday as the Metropolitan Riveters secured their second win of the 2018-2019 season. Only weeks before, the third-year forward was skating on asphalt in Kentucky instead of ice in New Jersey.

“It definitely takes a minute to adjust to the pace again, but I feel good,” D’Oench told ThinkProgress after the 4-3 shootout win over the Connecticut Whale.

She hadn’t hit the ice in a game for the Riveters since hoisting the Isobel Championship Cup exactly eight months prior to her season debut last week. At a time when athletes are constantly told to “stick to sports,” 24-year-old D’Oench decided to step away from hockey and spend the past four months working on a political campaign in Kentucky.

“I’ve always been interested in politics,” she told ThinkProgress after practice in Newark last month. “I don’t think I want to run [for office], but [I like] staying engaged and trying to be a well-informed citizen.”

https://thinkprogress.org/how-hockey-pro-miye-doench-bringing-politics-ice/