The San Jose Sharks of the NHL They apologized for a message on their video dialer that referenced the word ICEacronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), during a game commemorating Hispanic Heritage Night at its stadium in California.
The message, which appeared Saturday during the first intermission of the Sharks’ game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, read: “SJ Sharks fans love ice,” all caps.
A video showing the moment the message appeared was published on social media and sparked criticism for the use of the word ICE, when California has been one of the targets of the campaign of immigration raids undertaken by that agency.
The team reacted by warning that the message with “an offensive tone” was sent externally, and was inadvertently displayed on the stadium scoreboard.
“Sharks Sports & Entertainment deeply regrets that this message, which does not meet our organizational values, was not detected during our standard review process“the team said in a statement.
In addition to the apology, the team warned that it is investigating the origin of the message.
San Jose was one of dozens of US cities where protesters gathered as part of the second ‘No Kings’ protest, held nationwide last Saturday to oppose US President Donald Trump’s political actions, including immigration raids by ICE.
The tension over the White House’s immigration policies has moved to the playing fields, last week a viral confrontation between fans at a Major League Baseball playoff game in Milwaukee.
A Milwaukee Brewers fan, identified as Shannon Kobylarczyk was caught on video telling a Latino Los Angeles Dodgers fan: “Let’s call ICE.”
The threat cost the woman dismissal from her job, a sanction to enter the stadium, and rejection from the community.
Keep reading:
· Milwaukee fan loses her job due to ICE threats to Latino Dodger fan
· The growing popularity of the Kings and hockey among Latinos
· One of the wildest and most viral fights in sports history took place in the NHL