Amanda Pelkey is one of 200 professional hockey players protesting inadequate compensation by refusing to play in any pro leagues in North America this season.
The Montpelier native helped bring home a gold medal in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, and has played hockey for the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League.
Amanda Pelkey spoke to VPR's Mitch Wertlieb. Listen to their conversation above.
Pelkey described NWHL contracts as "essentially gas money," and said the highest paid NWHL contract for this season was $6,000. A statement shared on Twitter earlier this month by numerous players said some players earn as little as $2,000. According to the statement, the contracts do not include health insurance.
We may represent different teams, leagues and countries but collectively we stand as one.
— Amanda Pelkey (@Pelkey21)
Pelkey noted the NWHL is only in its fifth year. Still, she said, she and her colleagues are demanding "a professional league that is sustainable," financially stable, and which treats its players, "like professionals."
Pelkey referred to the collective protest as a "gap year," and called it "one of the biggest things that we collectively can do."
