It’s so hard to be in your optimistic girlie era when you write about social issues in hockey, to be honest. At this point, we’re strongly considering an inbox where people can send us a) pictures of capybaras or b) funny or interesting things they see that we could talk about. Give us something to work with!
Alas, this is our roundup for this week’s Other Thoughts:
Fanatics Fantastic (F)deal
On Tuesday, March 21, the NHL announced a 10-year deal with Fanatics (replacing Adidas, who wanted out) as the official jersey sponsors and on-ice uniform starting the 2024-25 season.
Although the company has been producing Nike-branded uniforms for all the MLB teams since 2017, it will be the first time that their branding will be on an official player uniform for professional teams.
I’m not gonna lie, I - Perrye - own a few Fanatics jerseys because a sports store was selling them cheap to liquidate their goods during the pandemic. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have been a jersey owner because never in a million years would you catch me buying any jersey at full price. For this reason, I wasn’t too picky about the quality of a clothing piece I might wear once every two years. However, I want to let you know that it’s only for jerseys because the mindset for the rest of my wardrobe is all about quality and sustainability - Gaby can confirm *the angel emoji*. As for her, she refuses to buy any jersey as a recurring bit she has with herself.
Fabric quality, printing errors, and questionable design are some of the main complaints and rightfully so.
The league favored their pockets at the expense of the fans and the product/brand. They have managed to unite the entire league’s fanbase, which is quite impressive considering the sport’s current climate.
However, I can’t help to wonder if, despite the highly negative responses, things will change long-term. Money does talk, but the league knows how its fanbase acts like a chihuahua. They will speak loudly for a minute but eventually accept their fate and move on to the next thing to hate.
Fanatics will become the only partner, so the jerseys fanatics (no pun intended) will have no choice other than turning to them to buy more if they want to keep adding to their collection.
Not us tho, so y’all be easy!
Side note: If a PR person from the Panthers wants to send me the 2022 Retro Reverse or the Flames, the Blasty for free, I will gladly add them to my collection!
Please, these gays are trying to murder me!
This is one of those topics where the only energy we have left for it is to cackle in exhaustion. On Saturday, March 18, during the San Jose Shark’s Pride Night, James Reimer (who we forgot was still playing, tbh) refused to wear the jersey citing his Christian faith. His statement was basically like I have no hate in my heart…. except maybe for those gays.
The San Jose Sharks did what they could and made him basically fend for himself. Still, we feel for everyone involved in putting together that night because his bigotry definitely overshadowed the other fantastic things they did. It’s kind of hard to concentrate on the good things when the bad things are actually, you know, pretty bad.
Yesterday evening, the Blackhawks also announced that they would be pulling their pride jerseys, and we were honestly like, lol, surely not. Out of all the teams in the league, we would have thought they would have been the ones trying their hardest to avoid a(nother) scandal.
They are, as we would say, on the struggle bus. There has been a lot of talk about the internal work culture and how that has changed, but any positive momentum was swiftly lost. They cited Russia’s anti-LGTBQ+ propaganda law as a security concern to justify their decision, but pretty much everyone called B.S. Our friends at Hockey In Society wrote more about why this reasoning makes no sense and went more into the actual law their citing.
The quick regression we see regarding social issues in the sport should concern everyone. The league’s failure to put adequate protocols for these situations has made hockey more dangerous for all marginalized people. These types of decisions, and the amount of attention they get, embolden bigots and will continue to make the stands a scary place to be as a fan.
Jeff Skinner, acteur
At this point, we’re predictable human beings in terms of what we love to consume as content in hockey. You give a player a great concept, a camera and a mic, and you will immediately catch up smiling about it.
This time, it’s Jeff Skinner is hosting his talk show with teammates as guests.
It’s not that we like Jeff Skinner the way we like other players, but we can appreciate him having a personality and embracing his love for Emily in Paris.
Plus, as empaths (this is a joke, FYI), we feel slightly bad because he’s making bank with nothing to show: no rings, no records, and no respect. We want him to make it to the playoffs at least once in his lifetime so he can finally shut the haters. But hey, if this hockey thing doesn’t work, he can always audition to be in the next Christopher Nolan movie.
Carson Briere Update
In case you missed it, Carson Briere and his friend were charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. The university may have said Thoughts and Prayers, but the local police department did not.
Finally, Ramadan Mubarak to all of our friends!
With Love,
Gaby and Perrye