Damn it, hockey! Really? I was holding out hope that there was one major sport I could still watch and not have to have a political message — of any kind — thrown in my face. Oh, Canada. You disappoint us again.
I point out Canada, because every player that took a knee during the U.S. national anthem before Monday evening’s National Hockey League (NHL) game between the Dallas Stars and Las Vegas Golden Knights is from Canada, save for one that’s from Sweden.
Stars players Tyler Seguin and Jason Dickinson, along with the Golden Knights’ Ryan Reaves and Robin Lehner — who is Swedish — all knelt during the singing of the U.S. anthem.
Take a look:
The only other player who has taken a knee so far is Canadian-born defenseman for the Minnesota Wild, Matt Dumba. Dumba took a knee during the U.S. national anthem last Saturday, but stood proudly for the Canadian anthem. I guess he was trying to tell us that racism doesn’t exist in Canada, but it’s a plague in the U.S.
If that’s the case, where are all the American-born players taking a knee? Canada doesn’t have freedom of speech, but you don’t see players kneeling for that. Just saying.
Believe in whatever you want to believe in. But when these players constantly use only one of their many available platforms to inject politics into what many people used to use as an escape from said politics, don’t be surprised when people tune out.
H/T: Daily Caller