PASSION, HARD WORK AND PERSEVERANCE PAVED THE WAY FOR PAYNE TO ACHIEVE HIS DREAM
Feb 28, 2022By Suzie Cool
“My whole rule is that it starts at your kitchen table because people aren’t born to hate. I always tell people that we obviously don’t have these conversations because that’s where it starts and that’s exactly where change starts,” said Cincinnati Cyclones head coach Jason Payne when asked what it was like growing up playing the game of hockey as a person of color.
Have you ever really listened to the topics you discuss at the dinner table? I mean, really listened in on the things that you’re saying.
Is it just the usual going over your day? The weather? Is there truly any substance, or are you simply just going through the motions to have something to pass the time until you’re done?
As Black History Month comes to a close, maybe it’s time to think about having some tougher discussions, the uncomfortable ones that people usually shy away from. Because at the end of the day, there’s a lot more going on then what you did at work, the weather or trying to pass the time until you’re finished with your meal. Try talking about the things that should be brought to the forefront to teach your children, your friends or maybe even yourself.
And then, don’t just stop because the month of February comes to a close. Continue to have these hard conversations because that’s really the only way to ensure change will ever fully happen.
Just ask Payne, who was named the sixth head coach in Cincinnati Cyclones franchise history last August, subsequently becoming the first person of color to hold this position with the organization. Payne also serves as the team’s director of hockey operations and works with the Cincinnati Cyclones Foundation, helping grow the game of hockey at the youth level in the Greater Cincinnati Area.
With all that said, though, the first-year head coach has faced some adversity in his career to get to this point.
And sadly, Payne described the first moment that he encountered hatred in his journey as simply “being part of the journey and it’s just what you have to deal with. To encounter the racism that I did in some places, it was unreal.”
Payne then continued with, “I was playing in a tournament and some kid called me the N-word. I barely heard, but my team did, and they were more upset than I was. So, then I confronted them and that’s the first time you’re really feeling this hatred that people have and you’re wondering where it’s coming from.”
As the Cyclones reached a historical mark for the game of hockey last summer, Payne, a member of the NHL Coaches Association BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Coaches Program, is currently the only head coach of color in professional hockey, the third in the ECHL’s 33-year history, and sixth BIPOC head coach in professional hockey history, joining Dirk Graham (Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, 1998-99), John Paris, Jr. (Atlanta Knights, IHL, 1994-1995 ), Shawn Wheeler (Charlotte Checkers, ECHL, 1998-2000), Graeme Townsend (Macon Whoopee, Greensboro Generals, CHL/ECHL, 1999-2002) and Leo Thomas (Macon Mayhem, SPHL, 2018-2019).
Now although the 46-year-old has etched himself into history, by no means did this feat come easy. Payne describes making his way up the ranks as hoping to be accepting by disarming yourself and being open to those around you.
“It’s a difficult journey, for sure. To be able to play a sport that there’s not many people that look like you, it kind of made me feel alienated in many ways. You know, I try to just conduct myself and be the best person I can and it’s almost like you have to have this disarming quality about yourself to hopefully be accepted.”
For 14 years, Payne paved his way through six different leagues and 25 teams from 1995 to 2009 as a professional hockey player. As Payne went on to amass 1,825 penalty minutes over the course of 522 games in various leagues across the continent, he hung up the skates after the 2008-09 season, which he spent with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, starring in 18 games and spending 24 minutes in the box.
It wouldn’t be long after his playing days were over before Payne found himself back in the game of hockey, accepting an assistant coaching position for the 2010-11 season in the Ontario Junior Hockey League with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. Afterwards, Payne then spent the next several seasons in various roles across multiple leagues, serving as a scout, skills coach and skating coach, prepping himself for the opportunity to make the jump back to the pro ranks.
Just before joining the Cyclones organization, Payne was the general manager for the OJHL’s Georgetown Raiders. Payne then joined the Cyclones as the team’s assistant coach prior to the start of the 2018-19 season.
Finally, after 14 years of playing in the pro ranks and then another 11 taking on various roles in several different leagues, it’s safe to say that Payne kept working on his dreams until he made them happen.
“Everyone has dreams, everyone has goals, but to get to those dreams and to get to those goals, nothing comes without adversity. The problem is a lot of people give up at the first signs of adversity, they don’t push through. You have to keep fighting, you have to give it your all, you have to dedicate your life to it. It’s passion and the best advice I could do is just to be the best version of you that you can be and keep working at it.”
Although Payne has no intentions of stopping in the ECHL, with hopes to one day make it to the NHL, he wants to continue to be a positive role model for the future generation that looks to follow in his footsteps.
“For myself, just being able to be that positive role model, that positive person for people to see someone that looks like them in these positions. Hopefully that is enough of an incentive for them to push forward and to keep working, keep growing and keep doing what they’re doing.”
Payne then continued to say, “They now know there’s potential that they can be in the same position one day sometime down the road in their life if that’s what they choose to do or whatever they choose to be. As long as they put in the effort and work hard at doing it.”
While Payne will continue to reach a lot of his firsts in his career, he most certainly won’t be the last. Thankfully, because of Payne and what he’s done for Cincinnati and the entire Buffalo Sabres organization, there will undoubtedly be others who follow in his footsteps. Hopefully their paths will be a little less disarming along the way.
The one way to continue to grow towards complete unity in the game of hockey, is to finally start having those tough conversations.
“The key is having those difficult conversations, that’s the toughest part. It’s difficult to have those difficult conversations, so you have to find a way of getting comfortable while being uncomfortable and getting out of that comfort zone.”
Payne then finished with, “It’s the same as being a player, and in the game of hockey, you stay within your comfort zone and you’ll never get it, never grow and you’ll never get better. It’s the same thing with these kinds of conversations, you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone or else you’ll never grow, and you’ll never get better.”
Remember to have the difficult conversations, to learn and to teach that everyone is worthy of the same things. Maybe then the firsts won’t be so significant and we can all start to realize that anyone is capable of the job as long as their passion is behind it.