The NHL has expressed its support for Black Lives Matter and other social justice movements through its #WeSkateFor campaign, and part of its launch will be through the hashtag’s display during the Blackhawks-Oilers’ Game 1 on Saturday.
But many hockey fans said Friday it doesn’t go far enough.
They took to kneeling on social media, tweeting and posting pictures of themselves kneeling while wearing their favorite teams’ sweaters and T-shirts and helping the hashtag #Kneel4Hockey go viral Friday.
During the league’s return-to-play exhibition games this week, some players interlocked arms in support of BLM’s goal of racial equality during the national anthem, but reportedly none of them kneeled, a protest posture first taken within major pro sports by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick at an NFL game in 2016 to bring attention to police brutality against African Americans.
Since then, opinions have been deeply divided whether the gesture’s an appropriate form of protest or disrespectful of the flag.
President Donald Trump’s son Eric thanked the NHL in a tweet as he posted video of Islanders and Rangers players standing during “The Star-Spangled Banner” in Wednesday night’s exhibition game.
Instagram user metaldave01, who identified himself as David Auger, decked himself out in Canadiens uniform — gloves, skates, stick and all — and sent a message to the hockey world through his caption.
“During the anthems, some ring announcers made the call of standing in equality that hockey is for everyone, and that black lives matter. Players on the ice stood, interlocked their arms, and stood as such while the anthems played.
“And that is so hockey. In sports, the act of taking a knee during the anthem is seen as political, an outrage, when it is the most peaceful means of bringing attention to a long overdue topic.
“I’m terrible at hockey, but I can do this.
“So, I kneel for hockey. I kneel for hockey is for everyone. I kneel for black lives matter. #Kneel4Hockey #HockeyIsForEveryone #BlackLivesMatter.”
At least two Blackhawks fans joined in the social media trend.
“I’ll gladly kneel if my team can’t,” @TheTomEllacott tweeted.
Mandyhawk19 tweeted a photo of her dog Tazer, named after Hawks star Jonathan Toews, along with a screen capture of her $10 donation to Black Girl Hockey Club, which helped make the #Kneel4Hockey demonstration go viral.
“@nhl won’t do it…too scared to do it. Also donate to @BlackGirlHockey,” @Mandyhawk19 wrote.
Toews posted an Instagram message expressing his support of racial justice in June, “seeing the video of George Floyd’s death (while being arrested) and the violent reaction across the country moved me to tears.”
Similarly, in a series of tweets Patrick Kane called for an end to systemic racism and announced donations to youth groups My Block, My Hood, My City and All Stars Project of Chicago.
On Tuesday, Toews was asked whether players planned some sort of show of support before Saturday’s game, but he said “it hasn’t been the conversation this week.”
“It has been a short training camp, trying to get ready,” Toews said. “But I think there will be a time when the conversation will go back to that. I think there has been a pretty positive response from guys across the league. Some of the Black players in the league that have been the front runners and getting guys involved and getting guys on the same page there.
“I think there have been some great conversations in progress there, so I’m happy to be a part of that.”
Kane appears in a video in support of the player-led Hockey Diversity Alliance, which has criticized what they consider to be lukewarm efforts by the league.
“The NHL can put ‘Black Lives Matter’ all over the rink, shout ‘Black Lives Matter’ from the mountains,” Sharks forward and Alliance co-head Evander Kane told TSN’s Frank Seravalli. “No matter what they do or say, it’s all going to fall on deaf ears with me and every other person in the HDA because the league has made no effort to support its own Black players.”
Here are other fans’ tweets from #Kneel4Hockey and #HockeyIsForEveryone.
