Slowly but surely, talk of President Donald Trump's condemnation of protests against social injustice during pregame national anthems has found its way into the NHL, and the New York Islanders' Josh Ho-Sang became the latest player to support the more than 200 NFL players who demonstrated during anthems Sunday and Monday.
"I think what the NFL players are doing is amazing," the 21-year-old forward said, according to Newsday. "It's good that they're all sticking together. I mean, I'm Canadian, so I don't have too much input on the matter itself. It will affect me living in the States, but the biggest thing is it's unfortunate that the message may have gotten lost a little. Now it's becoming a battle between the NFL and the president and originally [the protests] started because of police brutality and the mistreatment of different races."
NHL opinions have been divided regarding Trump's suggestion Friday that NFL owners should "fire" players who protest injustice during the anthem, not to mention whether players should be permitted to kneel during the song.
San Jose Sharks forward Joel Ward hinted Tuesday that he might kneel during anthems after experiencing "a lot of racism in hockey," and three different Winnipeg Jets players have come forth to either express disapproval of Trump's comments or defend teammates' right to protest. Former NHL veteran Georges Laraque also said this week that he thinks the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of his former teams, deciding to uphold a tradition of visiting the White House as a championship team is an "embarrassment" because of Trump's remarks.
The Penguins, with support from captain Sidney Crosby, however, have made it clear they will visit the White House without political qualms. And several players, including rising Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, have said they would not personally kneel during the anthem.
