Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has led the National Hockey League in scoring nine times. On the other hand, he’s a Russian, so, from USA Today:
CCM Hockey, an equipment and apparel brand based in Canada, will no longer use Russian star and Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin or any other Russian in global marketing campaigns to promote its products. …
“We are very sad to witness, like the rest of the world, what is happening in Ukraine,” chief executive Marrouane Nabih wrote in an email to TSN. “Although Mr. Ovechkin is not responsible for the Russian government’s actions, we took the decision to not use him (or any Russian player) on any global CCM communication at this point.”
TSN, citing an anonymous industry source, reported that CCM pays Ovechkin more than $500,000 per year in addition to a percentage of sales in Russia for the partnership.
Ovechkin has previously supported Russian president Vladimir Putin, but said on Friday that his country’s invasion of Ukraine was a "hard situation" before deflecting further comment and saying he was an athlete and not involved in politics.
… IPC President Andrew Parsons said on Wednesday that Russian athletes should not be viewed as “aggressors” and that the organization’s governing board didn’t have the authority to ban athletes outright as a result of its constitution.
The IPC, however, said in a statement on Thursday that multiple National Paralympic committees (NPCs), teams and athletes were now threatening not to compete and that the situation in the athlete villages “is escalating […] and ensuring the safety of athletes has become untenable.”
The situation is reminiscent to the anti-German fervor in the U.S. during World War I, when symphonies cancelled Beethoven concerts and sauerkraut was renamed “liberty cabbage,” dachshunds became “liberty hounds,” and even German measles were redubbed “liberty measles.”
On the other hand, the anti-German propaganda of 1917-1918 was largely the work of the dynamic, progressive Wilson Administration who had been studying European propaganda for three years.
They employed 15,000 “four minute men” to give rabble rousing speeches before movies to stir up crowds.
In contrast, Joe Biden is, for better or worse, a sleepy old man.
But Americans have more means of egging each other on.
The biggest danger we’re facing is social media encouraging ever more rabid public and private sanctions on Russia, leading to WWIII. The scary part is that this is an emergent phenomenon — no one is in control. https://t.co/57YgXvwmdh
— Dr. Clayton Forrester (@DrClaytonForre1) March 3, 2022
