The National Hockey League (NHL) has apologized after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized its upcoming job fair in Fort Lauderdale, calling it "racist" since an advertisement barred members of some groups from attending.
The National Hockey League had planned a gathering on February 2nd, called the "Pathway to Hockey Summit," in an effort to support "diverse job seekers who are seeking careers in hockey."
The event was advertised as being available to "participants aged 18 or over, based in the US, who identify as female, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and/or a person with a handicap." This post has now been deleted from LinkedIn.
The advertising received a lot of reaction, and according to Fox News, DeSantis was one of its sternest detractors.
DeSantis' press secretary Bryan Griffin said in a statement, "Discrimination of any sort is not welcome in the state of Florida, and we do not abide by the woke notion that discrimination should be overlooked if applied in a politically popular manner or against a politically unpopular demographic.
"We are fighting all discrimination in our schools and our workplaces, and we will fight it in publicly accessible places of meeting or activity."
Griffin added that the NHL should 'immediately remove and denounce the discriminatory prohibitions it has imposed on attendance to the 2023 "Pathway to Hockey" summit.'
The wording could be better
In its defense, NHL said the original wording of the LinkedIn post related to the event needed to be more accurate.
The league then added: '"The Pathway to Hockey Summit" is an informational and networking event designed to encourage all individuals to consider a career in our game – and, in particular, alert those who might not be familiar with hockey to the opportunities it offers.'
NHL still stays open to all who want to join.
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