An unidentified hockey coach is gaining fame online for telling his players to “get the f— out” if they plan on protesting the American or Canadian national anthems.
A Twitter account under the name Wojciech Pawelczyk first posted the video on Monday. Since then, the tweet has garnered over 16,000 retweets and 45,000 likes.
“First day of camp, something really important, OK? We are not women’s soccer. We are not the NFL,” the coach told his players on the first day of camp. “If there is anybody here that is going to be disrespectful to either the American or the Canadian national anthem, grab your gear and get the f— out now, ’cause you’ll never see the ice in this arena.”
“We don’t have that problem in hockey. We are better than that, but there is no sense in wasting anybody’s time if that shit was going to happen,” the coach continued. “I don’t believe it would happen here. We are the most patriotic sport that they have out there, so just keep that in mind.”
Coach tells players if you’re going to disrespect the national anthem, get the f*ck out pic.twitter.com/YT7IXa7yVO
— Wojciech Pawelczyk ???? (@PolishPatriotTM) July 8, 2019
The coach’s speech comes after soccer star Megan Rapinoe gained attention recently for declaring she would not visit the “f—ing White House” if invited by President Trump. Rapinoe is known for protesting the U.S. national anthem at soccer games, first by kneeling and then by standing silently with arms down after the U.S. Soccer Federation required players to stand.
The National Football League has struggled with its own issues of players kneeling for the national anthem, sparking outcry from fans and political leaders, most notably Trump. Former league quarterback Colin Kaepernick is possibly the most outspoken player or former player to protest the anthem at games. He recently pressured the sportswear giant Nike into pulling shoes depicting the Betsy Ross American flag.
