[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 452 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.452
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two
An Act
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historical document ``The Book of Negroes''.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.
(a) In General.--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.
(b) Proceeds of Sales.--The amounts received from the sale of
duplicate medals under subsection (a) shall be deposited in the United
States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
(c) Authority to Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck
under this Act.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medal.--The medals struck pursuant to this Act are
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States
Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31,
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.