NHL refuses to let Marc-Andre Fleury wear specialty mask for Native American Heritage Night
The NHL is facing harsh criticism for its refusal to allow Minnesota Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to wear a specialty goalie mask for Native American Heritage Night.
Fleury wanted to wear the mask to honor his wife, who is native, and was custom-designed by artist Cole Redhorse Taylor.
The NHL refused to allow Fleury to wear the mask and threatened to fine both him and the Wild organization if he did.
This all goes back to the fallout from various Pride nights around the league, where a small handful of players refused to don the rainbow Pride jerseys teams used to wear on those nights. Due to that fallout, the NHL made the decision this season that it would not allow any specialty jerseys or any special stick tape for the various special nights.
Some NHL players spoke out against that decision and threatened to defy the league's rule and use Pride tape on their sticks anyway. The backlash resulted in the league lifting that ban and allowing players to use the tape if they choose.
That has not prevented the league from still making decisions like this.
Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, said the goalie was willing to pay the fine and wear the mask anyway, but the league threatened the Wild organization with an even more significant fine.
It would be interesting to know what the NHL considers a "significant fine." It also is worth wondering why the Wild would not be willing to support their player — who also happens to be one of the most beloved players across the league — and be willing to pay the fine to allow him to wear the mask.
The NHL has a way of stumbling over itself with self-inflicted mistakes that result in PR nightmares. This is one of those times, and it is all completely avoidable. But because it wants to cater to a very small handful of players who objected to wearing a rainbow jersey for one warmup per season, the NHL instead continues to welcome controversy unnecessarily.
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