Tonight is Native American Heritage Night for the Minnesota Wild. Marc-Andre Fleury had a special mask designed by artist Cole Redhorse Taylor to honor his wife Veronique, who is native. But the NHL, in an incredibly embarrassing move, told him that he cannot wear it, even just for warm-ups. At first, Fleury considered wearing it regardless and simply paying the fine. But the NHL took things one step further and threatened the team not once but twice with a large fine. Fleury isn’t even starting tonight. He only wanted it for warm-ups.
The NHL clarified just last month that on-ice player uniforms and gear cannot be altered to reflect theme nights. But then why is Sergei Bobrovsky allowed to wear a Hockey Fights Cancer mask? Is it because he’s been using it as a regular helmet instead of for just one night? Or was Native American Heritage considered controversial while cancer is not?
This all stemmed from Pride Nights last year and the controversy over the warm-up jerseys and using Pride Tape. Without delving too deep into that conversation (which is important, but is a discussion for another day), it’s important to remember that the NHL claims that they are working on inclusion in the game of hockey. Hockey is for Everyone; it shouldn’t be just a catchphrase.
Marc-Andre Fleury is one of the most well-respected players in the league. He’s a future Hall-of-Famer. He’s arguably the most well-liked player in the sport of hockey today. He helped design a helmet that not only celebrates his wife’s ancestry but also his children and father. The league feels so strongly that they threatened Fleury and the Wild team multiple times about wearing it. And Fleury, being the nice guy that he is, doesn’t want to put anyone in a bad spot.
What controversial cause would Fleury be pushing by wearing this mask? Supporting indigenous communities? Celebrating indigenous ancestry and families? Does the NHL realize that the message they are sending? It doesn’t sound much like “Don’t wear special gear” as much as it sounds like “We do not support marginalized communities in this sport.”
So what can the NHL do? There would be better policies to put in place to let players support theme nights. While they have thankfully reversed the ban on Pride Tape, they should clarify other issues. Could players wear a baseball hat themed for a night during warm-ups? Can goalies design and wear masks that they design and pay for? At what point will players be able to express themselves through their gear? The NHL can sell helmet space for ads.
The idea of banning specialty jerseys was to allow players freedom of speech, correct? Players wanted to be able to choose whether they participated or not. But there are plenty of goalie masks in regular rotation that contain religious or political symbols. As long as they don’t contain anything hateful, that’s fine.
So why did the NHL pick this as their hill to die on? They must’ve realized the optics of this, right? Telling the most respected player in the league that wearing a non-political mask honoring his wife and children’s heritage just for warm-ups isn’t alright. And they didn’t just warn him once, but up to three times. Even one step further from that, the Wild have an Indigenous player. Connor Dewar is of Red River Metis heritage and very proud of it. He was even honored last summer for his dedication to his community.
The NHL shows once again that they think Hockey is for Everyone (who is white and male).
