Gary Bettman continuing to piss off players as he refuses to let Marc-Andre Fleury wear new mask
With the Minnesota Wild hosting an upcoming Native American Heritage Night, Marc-Andre Fleury was looking to mark the occasion by wearing a specialty goalie mask designed by a Native artist.
For Fleury, this night is personal to him. His wife is Native American, and the mask would be a way to show support for his wife and Natives across North America. However, Gary Bettman had to step in to put an end to Fleury's plans.
As part of the NHL's ban on allowing players to wear equipment to support communities and causes, Bettman threatened Fleury with a serious fine if he were to wear the helmet even during warmup. According to his agent Allan Walsh, Fleury was planning on taking the fine and wearing the helmet - until Bettman increased the threat towards the whole Wild organization as well.
This is a clear example of why so many resisted the NHL's ruling on special equipment in the first place. It's crude, insensitive, and strips players from their personalities and passions. Where the NHL could have had a spotlight for a player's support, they instead had to silence them in cowardly fear of any controversy.
| POLL | ||
Should Bettman rescind this rule? | ||
| Yes | 79 | 51.6 % |
| No | 23 | 15 % |
| It should have never have been a rule | 51 | 33.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
