Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has told the National Hockey League (NHL) to pound sand over a job posting that he blasted as “discriminatory.”
The NHL caved after Gov. DeSantis warned that the league is “not welcome in the state of Florida” over the “woke” posting.
The posting was for an event called the Pathway to Hockey Summit and said participants in the February event needed to check off certain “diversity” boxes.
The posting said: “The NHL is proud to announce its first-ever Pathway to Hockey Summit launching during our 2023 All-Star festivities in South Florida.
“The Pathway to Hockey Summit is a career event for diverse job seekers who are pursuing careers in hockey.
“The day will be filled with guest speakers and panelists, networking opportunities, and more.
“If you are looking for your opportunity to meet with recruiters from the NHL League Office and at least 10 of our NHL teams, we welcome you to register.
“Participants must be 18 years of age or older, based in the U.S., and identify as female, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and/or a person with a disability.
“Veterans are also welcome and encouraged to attend.”
DeSantis responded by immediately taking NHL officials to the woodshed.
NEW – @GovRonDeSantis spox issues statement condemning NHL for hosting summit where participants must .. “identify as female, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino ..”
“Discrimination of any sort is not welcome in the state of Florida,” says spox @BryanDGriffin
— MAHSA SAEIDI, ESQ.🕵🏼 مهسا (@MahsaWho) January 14, 2023
Bryan Griffin, the press secretary for DeSantis, issued a statement saying that the event would not be welcome in Florida.
Griffin said:
“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.
“We call on the National Hockey League to immediately remove and denounce the discriminatory prohibitions it has imposed on attendance to the 2023 ‘Pathway to Hockey’ summit.”
The NHL blamed an error for the posting and claimed the “original wording of the LinkedIn post associated with the event was not accurate.”
“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,” the NHL spokesperson said.
The NHL deleted the event posting on Friday night.
.@NHL: You are officially on notice about your planned events in Florida. Unlawful discrimination will not be tolerated. https://t.co/thkSWaumZB
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) January 14, 2023
