Thoughts on the NHL and Insurrection - pt 2

[der meister 1,816]

***for the week ending 1/24***

 

In the case of the NHL, however, they are attempting to be "neutral". Neutrality at this point is not an option. They may believe that silence is security, but in this case silence is acquiescence. The NHL's unwillingness to put out a statement decrying the actions of domestic terrorists shows not only a lack of foresight, but also a lack of moral fiber an courage, especially in light of Deangelo's outspoke stance and his history of issues off the ice. I'm not suggesting that the NHL should suspend Deangelo for his political views; I am, however, in favor of the league sending out internal and external statements that present a clear opposition to the coup. Along with that, the league should be providing classes to its members, including digital citizenship guidelines.

 

What would the league's reaction be if one or more of their players was found to have participated in planning - or worse, executing - the attack on the Capitol building? Instead of getting ahead of the situation, the NHL may very well find itself having to be reactive instead of proactive, which is always a bad position from a public relations standpoint.

 

I find it staggering that in the NFL, players posted comments about the attack. The same is true with the NBA. But in the NHL, which has an already-questionable historic relationship with misogyny and racism, there is near radio-silence. For a league that struggles to gain a foothold in the media, in television contract deals, in many expansion markets, silence is far from security. And if a player is discovered having colluded with terrorists in the 80 terabytes of Parler data dump, the NHL could end up facing a massive public backlash that it might not be able to survive.