The ice is thin for Alexander Ovechkin. The 36-year-old was booed by the fans when the Russian superstar in the North American ice hockey professional league NHL ran out as captain of the Washington Capitals at the Edmonton Oilers this Wednesday. There is a large Ukrainian community in the Canadian city.
Ovechkin is under increasing pressure because of his closeness to Vladimir Putin. He once boasted that he had his president’s phone number and spoke to him regularly. He still has a profile picture on his Instagram account showing him at Putin’s side. Allegedly, Ovechkin does not want to exchange the picture out of concern for his family: his wife and two children are in Russia.
Between all chairs
Ovechkin is considered one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time. The Russian has been playing for the Capitals since 2005, and with 766 goals (as of March 10, 2022) he is the third-best scorer in NHL history. Now he sits between all chairs. Some criticize that he does not take a clear enough position against the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. In Russia, on the other hand, nationalists accuse him of a lack of loyalty.
When asked about the invasion of Ukraine at a press conference at the end of February, Ovechkin replied: “I’m Russian, I can’t control it. I hope that there will be peace in both countries again soon.” When a reporter asked about his relationship with Putin, Ovechkin said, “He’s my president.” And then he added: “But I’m not a politician, I’m an athlete.”
Managers warn of possible consequences
Apparently, almost all 55 Russian and three Belarusian ice hockey players who are under contract with NHL clubs this season, according to the Internet portal “QuantHockey.com”, will retire to this position. About half of them have verified Instagram accounts. Since the beginning of the year, however, they have published almost exclusively private pictures with their wife or girlfriend, child or dog, as well as sporting snapshots. Only one professional has commented publicly on Instagram since the beginning of the Ukraine war: Calgary Flames professional Nikita Zadorov posted a black photo with the caption “No War” and wrote “Stop it!!!” .
According to information from the Canadian TV sports broadcaster “TSN”, many managers have advised the players to exercise extreme caution when making political statements – with reference to the new Russian law that provides for prison sentences of up to 15 years for “false reports” about the war. “Some of my clients are free to express themselves in North America,” said Dan Milstein, a native of Ukraine who represents about three-quarters of Russian and Belarusian professionals. “But their families at home could be harassed for it.”
pleas for peace
Russian stars in other sports have resorted to more general appeals for peace rather than direct criticism of Putin. Daniil Medvedev, the new number 1 in men’s tennis, published a post on Instagram “on behalf of all the children in the world: They all have dreams, their life is just beginning. They feel and see everything for the first time in their lives . So I want to pray for peace in the world, for peace between countries.”
His compatriot Andrey Rublev, number seven in the world rankings, wrote with a pen on the lens of a TV camera: “No war please”. The 24-year-old Russian, who is a successful doubles player with Ukraine’s Denys Molchanov, later tweeted: “Now it’s not about tennis. It’s not about sport. It’s about peace around the world. We have to support each other.”
Russia international striker Fedor Smolov posted an all-black image on Instagram with the text “No to war” followed by a broken heart and the Ukrainian flag. The Russian biathlete Larissa Kuklina positioned herself similarly. She published a portrait of herself in black and white with a divided heart: one half in the national colors of Ukraine, the other half in the Russian national colors. The caption read, “What’s going on here? Stop it! We live in the 21st century!”
Z on the jersey
So far, there have been isolated cases of Russian athletes who publicly backed Putin’s war against Ukraine. The ethics and disciplinary committee of the world chess association FIDE is investigating grandmaster Sergey Karjakin. In an open letter to Putin, he assured the president of his “full support”: “I wish our brave army the fastest possible solution to all the tasks assigned to it.”
Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak also made headlines. The 20-year-old wore a jersey with the letter Z on the podium at the World Cup in Doha, Qatar. This is also found on all vehicles used by the Russian army during the invasion of Ukraine. “For me, the Z stands for victory and peace,” said Kuliak later. Disciplinary proceedings are also underway against the gymnast.