US Politics
NHL team forced to apologize for ‘offensive’ pro-ICE message displayed during Hispanic heritage night game
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An NHL team has been forced to apologize for an “offensive” pro-ICE message displayed during its Hispanic heritage night game.
The San Jose Sharks were going head to head with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday when the message appeared on the Sharks’ scoreboard.
A video seen by CNN showed the billboard at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, reading: “SJ SHARKS FANS LOVE ICE !! GET ‘EM BOYZ !”
Fans can be heard booing the message which was broadcast beside an image of the team’s iconic mascot.
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The image appeared on the team’s ninth annual celebration of Los Tiburones Night, which the club describes as a celebration of “the team’s commitment to the Bay Area’s vibrant Hispanic community.”
One of the team’s fans told CNN that she was “appalled” by the message. “They’re my favorite team – I even have tattoos – but this was something that should’ve been caught,” Jessica Clark told the broadcaster.
Another fan told KTVU that the team needed to check which messages can appear on the screen.
“I’m really surprised to see that at a Sharks game. I’m a big Sharks fan too,” said Daniel Gomez of Fremont. “Very inappropriate, and, honestly, the Sharks should do better.
“They should do some pre-checks before any of the messages go out.”
After the match ended, with the Penguins winning 3-0, the Sharks took to social media to apologize for the message being shared in the stadium.
“During the first intermission of tonight’s game, an offensively worded message which had been externally submitted was inadvertently displayed on the in-arena scoreboard,” the statement read. “Sharks Sports & Entertainment deeply regrets that this message, which does not meet our organization’s values, was not detected during our standard review process.
“The Sharks organization sincerely apologizes for this oversight, and we are actively working to determine the origin of the message.”
The apology was also played late in the match on the same screen which had shared the pro-ICE message.
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The news comes as Donald Trump’s administration continues with its brutal crackdown on immigration into the United States.
The president’s aggressive policy has seen Trump handing ICE over $45 billion in funding over the next four years.
Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s policy, has reportedly told federal agents that they needed to make a collective 3,000 arrests per day. That figure is almost triple the number of daily arrests being made in January.
Although Miller denied setting that target, the wider policies have seen illegal border crossings drop to a 55-year-low.
Experts are now warning that this could cause the U.S. economy to slow down, as the number of immigrants in the American workforce falls.
