Former pro soccer player, now Forge FC manager: 'Don't be discouraged being the only Black person in the room'
CBC
Jelani Smith's parents told him something a long time ago that he's never forgotten: Sometimes you have to be two or three times better than your counterparts at the same job.
"That definitely stuck with me and it's something I always considered and held with me even till now," said Smith, 32.
The former professional soccer player has been head of soccer operations at Forge FC — a Canadian professional club based in Hamilton — since 2019.
Having made the transition from player to manager with the Canadian Premier League team, Smith said he's uniquely positioned to encourage younger players to look beyond being an athlete.
"Don't limit yourself or your abilities to just your contributions on the field. You're just as capable and you're just as intelligent to be in these positions and roles as an executive," he said.
He also has words of encouragement for young Black athletes in particular.
"Don't be discouraged by being the only Black person in the room. Don't be discouraged [or] think you don't have the experience to do it. Don't be discouraged from putting your foot in the water and testing yourself.
"You've done it your entire life as an athlete, you've taken those risky chances and it's paid off every time. Take that same heart that you put in your hours on the field and apply it somewhere new," he added.
Rising to the level of manager as a Black Canadian soccer player has been no walk in the park for Smith, whose career included stints with Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, Italia Shooters (now called York Region Shooters), Toronto Lynx, Sturm Graz II, Jeddeloh and Sigma FC.
He said that during his time as a player, "soccer wasn't as diverse as you see it right now."
"In my younger years, the majority of Caribbean, Black or people of colour were playing either cricket or basketball, so you had a large European contingent of people [in soccer]," Smith told CBC Hamilton.
"Oftentimes I might be the only Black player on the team and in general the only person of colour on the team."
In addition to what he called "inherent difficulties," Smith said he experienced "microaggression" as a young Black soccer player.
"It was eye opening even at a very young age to see the microaggression and racism that you face even locally in Canada," Smith said.
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