In celebration of the NHL’s first Black hockey player, Crackle adds heartfelt documentary Willie to its roster for viewers to stream for free all month long. Willie follows the inspirational journey of Willie O’Ree’s as he breaks color barriers in the National Hockey League during the tumultuous fight to end Jim Crow laws.
On February 18 in Boston’s TD Garden, Willie O’Ree, will ceremoniously have his No. 22 retired. Sixty-three years after his first game with the Bruins, O’Ree, who was legally blind in one eye, will become the third Black NHL player to have his number retired, following Grant Fuhr and Jarome Iginla.
In honor of not only O’Ree but many other Black achievements, Crackle curated a collection of iconic Black films and TV series including Gifted Hands, The Long Walk Home, Champions Forever, and Crackle original feature Sew the Winter to My Skin, among many others.
Crackle linear and VOD networks are available in the U.S. and can be accessed on 29 devices and services including Amazon FireTV, RokuTV, Apple TV, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio), gaming consoles (PS4 and XBoxOne), Plex, iOS and Android mobile devices and on desktops at Crackle.com. Crackle is also available in approximately 500,000 hotel rooms in the Marriott Bonvoy chain.