With reference to war in Ukraine, dozens of groups of NHL call to refuse hockey matchups with the Russian league

While a Russian hockey star is praised for his performance in the NHL, more than two dozen groups call on the Noord-American League to reject the idea of ​​on-Ice Matchups with the competition from his home country, Russianontinental Hockey League.

The day that Afteralexander Ovechkin became the top scorer in the NHL history, a coalition of the Ukrainian-American and Ukrainian-Canadian organizations that such competitions would be an insult to millions of American and Canadian NHL fans and people of Ukrainian descent in both countries.

At NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, the group insisted in a letter on Monday Totxpress promptly, public and unambiguous opposition against this suggestion.

It was signed by more than 30 humanitarian and social organizations.

We call on you to reject any cooperation between the NHL and the KHL or a competition between the two competition players. Such initiatives would forever stain the reputation of your organizations, facilitate the broader re -integration of the Russian federation in world sports bodies, the NHLS -owned values ​​and millions of hockey fans alienated, “the letter said.

The letter, first reported by NBC News, comes after a phone call last month between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which Putin suggested that American and Russian skaters play matches against each other. According to the Kremlin, Trump supported the idea.

The NHL said on Monday that “it was not part of the original conversation and there have been no further discussions.”

White House Pers Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month that while hockey was mentioned on the leaders, the White House is more interested in gaining a peace agreement than planning hockey games at the moment.

Last month the NHL said it was aware of the conversation, but that it was not a party for those discussions, and it would be inappropriate for us to comment at the moment, the Associated Press reported.

Razom for Ukraine, an organization established in the US that co -signed and helped to send the letter to the NHL, hoped for a stronger position of the competition.

So the NHL went out with a statement that certainly did not worry and worries, Razom said to Ukrainian director of public engagement, Daniel Balson. Our letter easily requires the NHL to make the NHL clear and to make it public against his opposition against such a collaboration.

While NHL and KHL players who would play together on the ice, Russian bombs would rain fire on Ukrainian burgers.

The Russian government did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Monday.

The Kremlin has a long history of using sports to launder his crimes. Certainly hockey, but really across the board, Putins who want to depict Russia as a modern member in a good reputation of the international community that wins medals and shows athletic excellence, Balson said. But of course this is all loaded by the fact that, as this conversation had, Russian army committed war crimes in Ukraine, they occupied territory, and they kill many, many innocent individuals, innocent civilians, including hundreds of Ukrainian athletes who lost their lives.

Hours before the coalition sent the letter, Oveechkin, the Washington Capitals star, scored his 895th career goal, at the top of Wayne Gretzkys Record.

Ovechkin has long been seen as closely connected to Putin, even smiling with him in his Instagram profile photo. And Putin congratulated Ovechkin on his mile pale goal.

Oveechkin did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Monday.

This is someone who proudly proclaimed his ties with a Russian leadership that is not repentant in the abuse of some of the most vulnerable Ukrainians in the world, that is territorial expansionist, who has launched a non -loked and incredibly violent aggression and has choped that. It is the established operator on someone like Ovechkin to dissociate himself from the Kremlin, Balson said.

At the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022,Ovechkin told reporters: Please, no more war. It doesn't matter who is in the war, Russia, Ukraine, different countries.