Dallas’s professional hockey team lost season ticket holders because of the organization’s support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The CEO and president of the Dallas Stars, Brad Alberts, said the organization has lost both individual and company accounts but said he stands by the decision to publicly support the movement and supports his players “100% to express their views,” according to the Dallas Morning News.
Alberts did not disclose how many ticket holders the team lost.
“We’re all against the social injustice and racial discrimination that’s going on around the world,” Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said. ”If our players think that this is the best way that they can support that, then they have our full support, and we are proud of the stance that they have taken.”
The NHL postponed Stanley Cup playoff games on Thursday and Friday in an effort to raise awareness of racial injustice. The league joined the NBA, WNBA, MLB, and MLS in delaying and canceling games after Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man, was shot by police during an arrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Blake is now reportedly paralyzed.
“Black and Brown communities continue to face real, painful experiences. The NHL and NHLPA recognize that much work remains to be done before we can play an appropriate role in a discussion centered on diversity, inclusion and social justice,” the league said in a statement announcing the game postponements. “We understand that the tragedies involving Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others require us to recognize this moment. We pledge to work to use our sport to influence positive change in society.”
Stars players Jason Dickinson and Tyler Seguin knelt for the Canadian and U.S. national anthems during an Aug. 3 game, making them among the first group of players in the NHL to kneel.
Matt Dumba, a Canadian player for the Minnesota Wild, was the first to kneel for the “Star-Spangled Banner” but stood during the rendition of “O Canada” earlier this summer. He expressed regret for standing during the Canadian national anthem and said he would raise his fist during future anthems instead of kneeling.
“There needs to be a lot of light that has to be shed on what is happening in Canada and the oppression First Nations have felt for hundreds of years,” he told reporters. ”I have First Nations and Aboriginal families that have lived it, and I was disappointed looking back on it.”
At a press conference from the league’s Western “bubble” in Edmonton, Canada, Dickinson said that kneeling during the anthems allowed the team to start a “good conversation,” the Dallas Morning News reported.
“We were able to start a good conversation among our team stemming from that moment. That’s exactly what we wanted. We wanted to get the conversation going not only amongst ourselves but amongst the country and the world.”
