so i just watched the video the leafs put out about violence against women and homophobia.
i watched it twice.
to say i am shell shocked is the most base description of my emotions right now.
i spent just about ten minutes crying and am still tearing up occasionally.
do you all know how many people follow the leafs? whether theyre on tumblr or not, whether its a casual following or an obsessive following, do you all know HOW MANY PEOPLE this video could reach?
that’s millions of people watching a video of two of their alternate captains, a star defenseman, and a man whose literal job it is to fight on ice, shouting down violence against women. pledging to empower the women in their lives. casually (it was only mentioned once, by morgan rielly) but firmly shutting down homophobia. promising to stand with us as allies.
hockey is a lot of things for a lot of people on this site. for me it’s always been a safe place, discourse and occasional toxicity aside.
nothing has ever made me feel more grateful, or more validated in my chosen safe space, than this video. and maybe thats dramatic. maybe thats stupid. but my team, and one of my role models, just showed that they are, without a doubt, on my side, and as much in my corner as i am in theirs.
and that? that means everything to me.
I don’t have the full story and I refuse to pry further because that just spreads possible misinformation but from what I understand
A player has potentially (I say potentially because the name is not going around, but that doesn’t make it any less severe) been outed as queer by a partner
This. Is. So. Fucked.
Period. End of sentence.
Like I don’t care if you think “well they were on x dating app, they had to see this as a possibility”
No.
Sharing any sort of information from any sexual partner on social media is disgusting, disrespectful, and wrong. I don’t care if they’re it’s a regular person, a pro-athlete, or the fuckin Queen of England. Posting anything online that you have not been given explicit consent, by every party involved, to post is wrong and straight up illegal.
This is not me defending whatever player this is. This is me defending the fucking personal privacy of another human being.
If you think anything to the contrary or think that this was okay on even a microscopic level you can fuck right off
My first ever attempt at nail art! Found a perfect Oilers orange at the pound store and couldn’t resist trying this out!
Ok, re: the hockey boycott, I wanna explain some of the key points you soccer fans who may not know the full importance of this. I know it may not be a sport you follow, but it’s a step for all of women’s sports
Like in soccer, Team USA is one of the dominant NTs in woho, a very top-teir NT. Obviously any NT standing up for what they deserve is a big deal, but havng a “big” team like this strike really sends echos through the hockey world and the sports world in general.
Worlds is one of the major hockey tourneys, so boycotting this is a massive statement. Theyre not boycotting some small, less importnat tournament.
The US is hosting Worlds this year. We’re boycotting a tourney that our own country is hosting. Which makes this boycott harder to ignore and really helps things hit home (and also dude it’s just hella gutsy)
The team isn’t even striking for equal pay, they just want living wages. Like enough-money-to-eat type wages.
The players get paid $1000 a month during the Olympic period, which lasts 6 months
Outside of the Olympic months they get paid basically nothing and many players have second jobs as a means to survive
Additionally, they players are lobbying for stronger development opportunities for youth players. The MNT already has this, per an ESPN quote they spend $3.5M on programs for younger boys and none for young girls.
Everything. He literally does everything well. If you watch him i feel like even someone who isn’t a hockey fan and doesn’t know what good hockey players look like would be able to see.
First of his points per game is over 1. that means you’ll most likely see him score or assist in the game you’re in.
he’s easily the fastest guy on the ice. You’ll see him with a defender about 5 feet in front of him and then the defender is eating his dust and floudering behind him as he scores on the goalie.
Did i mention he scores all the time ????
He’s also responsible af on the ice, like if you manage to stop him from getting the puck he’ll somehow get it anyway ??? and he’ll also probably steal the puck from you.
Literally at a game i went to Chara couldn’t have been more over him. 6 foot 9 needs a waive because his stick is too long chara, literally glued himself to mcdavid and connor still got the puck off to maroon who scored.
another thing htat makes im good is his ability to draw attention away from his linemates. like everyone’s on him which makes it easier for his teammates to score.
idk man he’s good at every aspect of hockey, but his main thing is speed just bcaue that’s the easiest to spot. but he’s literally going to be the best hockey player maybe of this generation possibly ever.
Steel Phoenix Studios 