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Junior hockey team destroys fan for slamming their Pride Night game

Ben Steiner
Ben Steiner
|
Feb 22 2023, 9:56 pm
Junior hockey team destroys fan for slamming their Pride Night game

The Oshawa Generals junior hockey team has sold out their Pride Night game, and they want everyone to know it.

Especially the haters.

The Ontario Hockey League club will host Pride Night on Friday, and they’ve sold out their rink for the matchup against the Peterborough Petes. Yet, not everyone was too pleased with the promotion, with one fan blowing back at the “woke” idea.

The Generals weren’t having any of it, though, quote tweeting the bigotry, saying, “We’d offer you a ticket to our Pride Night game but we’re soooooo woke that our Pride Night is actually sold out so 🤷‍♀️”

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out 😘”

The Generals are one of the most prominent clubs in the OHL when it comes to social media, as well as their Pride celebrations.

Brandon Wright, the club’s social media coordinator, sees the importance of the night as well, especially in a sport like hockey, where hasn’t always been a welcoming atmosphere towards those from the LGBTQIAS+ community.

“When I was an intern, my predecessor Jessica [Corbett], she hosted the Generals’ first ever Pride Night. I remember being in the office, and there was pushback because of the type of city Oshawa is and the traditional aspect of our season ticket holders,” Wright told the OHL website last year.

“Thankfully, it was so well received that when I took over this position, it wasn’t even a question as to if we were going to do it again. I knew I wanted to take it to the next level.”

The Generals have since become a leader in promoting the community, hosting Pride Nights every year since, and also regularly pushing back at disrespectful social media comments.

At their 2022 Pride Night, the Generals had Pride tape, Pride decals on the helmets, and a special Pride logo that was used on the game clock throughout the game. Additionally, they had a drag queen from Canada’s Drag Race perform the ceremonial puck drop.

“People were shocked that the Generals were able to bring in an icon from queer spaces and integrate her into being a part of hockey,” Wright said. “It blew up on social media and demonstrated that two worlds that we thought would never collide were finally able to.”

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