Marc-Andre Fleury is challenging the NHL

Marc-Andre Fleury chose to wear a mask Friday in honor of his wife and Native American roots, even though the National Hockey League (NHL) barred him from doing so because it conflicts with the league’s new policy on special attire. official wear.

The 38-year-old Quebec goalkeeper invited Indigenous artist Cole Redhorse Taylor to paint a special mask in preparation for First Nations Heritage Night, hosted by the Minnesota Wild. The team even used the mask to promote an auction with proceeds going to the St. Paul Foundation.

The white mask, covered in flowers in wild colors, has inscriptions on the back, including a quote from Fleury’s father as well as the names of his children. He hopes to pay tribute to his wife, who has local roots. (A new window).

Fleury’s face was well and truly covered by a mask when he took the ice to warm up before the Wild’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. Filip Gustafsson was the Wild’s starting goaltender.

according to The athlete, Fleury was informed that the NHL refused to allow him to play with a mask, even during warmups. The player’s agent, Alan Walsh, stated on the X social network that the goalkeeper still plans to wear the mask and pay the fine for breaking the rules. He added that the NHL then threatened the Wild organization with a hefty additional fine.

The agent also made an official outing against Commissioner Gary Bettman.

The NHL refuses to let Marc-André Fleury wear a specially designed mask for First Nations Heritage Night, and here’s everything you need to know about the NHL by Gary Bettman. Is hockey for everyone?

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Ambiguous policy

This season, the NHL has decided that teams can no longer wear special uniforms during warm-ups before games, Gary Bettman announced in June.

The Commissioner had indicated that the special uniform had become A distraction very important.

But in October, defenseman Travis Dermott used rainbow-colored tape in a game despite a ban imposed by the league. In response, I published a press release in which I mentioned this Players will now have the opportunity, on a voluntary basis, to represent social issues through their strip throughout the seasonWithout specifying whether this modification also affected players’ equipment, such as the Fluorescent Mask.

Last year, Pride jerseys sparked controversy when some players, including Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers and Andrey Kuzmenko of the Vancouver Canucks, refused to wear them.

At the end of last season, in addition to the ban on wearing special uniforms, the NHL also announced the end of themed evenings, which include not only Pride nights, but also history nights, such as black nights, anti-cancer nights or in support of black people. law enforcement.