NHL Will Need To Rethink Its Policies After Fleury Challenges Mask Ban

Summary

• NHL threatened to ban and fine Marc-André Fleury who wanted to wear a special mask
• Fleury wanted to support Native American Heritage Night and went ahead and defied the ban
• NHL has once again come across as too rigid and will have to rethink its policies

The NHL caused quite a stir in early October when they came out with a new policy that prevented players from using Pride Tape on their sticks.

The NHL informed franchises that they will no longer be able to special jerseys or show support for any special groups including the LGBTQ+ community, cancer support, indigenous group support or the military.

NHL Controversial Policies 

This policy upset the LGBTQ+ community and a number of players who wanted to have the freedom to support whoever they wanted. Things came to a head a couple of weeks later as Canadian Travis Dermott defied the ban and used Pride Tape to challenge the ban that the NHL has imposed.

It did not take long before the NHL came out and stated that it had decided to rescind its ban on Pride Tape and the decision was welcomed by the LGBTQ+ community. Over the weekend, this controversial ban was once again put in the spotlight due to Marc-André Fleury who plays for the Minnesota Wild.

Fleury who was born in Sorel-Tracy, Canada is married to Véronique LaRose who has her roots within the indigenous Canadian people. Fleury wanted to honour his wife and her community during Native American Heritage Night by wearing a specially designed mask from Cole Redhorse Taylor, an indigenous artist.

When the NHL found out that Fleury wanted to wear a special mask, they initially informed him that he could not wear the mask during warm-ups or during the game. When Fleury did not concede, they then threated to impose a fine on the Wild. The threats from the NHL did not sit well with Fleury who decided to defy the ban and fine and wear the mask.

NHL Will Have To Rethink Its Policies

Fleury said he was prepared to pay the fine as it was important for him to stand up for marginalized peoples. As of this writing, we don’t know if the NHL will enforce its fine on Fleury and the Wild.

The NHL will need to rethink its policies as they are not working and causing more controversy and unrest with players deliberately breaching them as they don’t think its right.