Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin found himself in the news this week and it wasn’t for his scoring exploits.
Several respected NHL reporters last week wrote articles condemning Ovechkin for his support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s unjust war on Ukraine. New York Post reporter Larry Brooks totally ripped Ove off in his latest column, saying it was “impossible to celebrate” Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record lining up if so closely on Putin and his policies.
From Brooks:
It is impossible to celebrate Ovechkin the man, who for years not only publicly sided with genocidal Russian President Vladimir Putin and his policies, but also attempted to lead a movement in his favor in late 2017.
Ovechkin is chasing history and icon. It should be an amazing journey that all sports fans can join. But it is not so simple. It is not so simple. What is to be commended for?
Ovechkin is an Ovechkin hockey player. Ovechkin is the target scorer, Ovechkin is an ardent supporter of Putin.
He is not a hero.
Larry Brooks
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) today issued an official appeal to the Canadian government to ban Ovechkin from entering the country. In particular, the UCC has called on the federal government to deny Ovechkin admission to Canada ahead of the Capitals’ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto next month.
Why he fails to mention fellow Russians like Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitri Orlov is anyone’s guess, but to me they’re clearly targeting Ovechkin here because he’s the classic big fish. Personally, I don’t have an opinion informed enough to offer much value to this conversation, but I am philosophically against banning a law-abiding citizen from crossing borders simply because of his political beliefs. There are real deceivers for whom I do not have time, but I will defend them until the day I die. For me, you may disagree with Ovechkin and his political beliefs, but until he commits a crime or until he poses a danger to the public, there should be no reason to legally cross international borders. It’s just logic…but then again, common sense seems to be on short notice these days.
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