San Jose – The San Jose Sharks have issued an apology after a message displayed on the video board during Saturday night’s game was widely criticized as offensive, especially given the timing during the team’s Hispanic Heritage Night celebration.
During the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a message appeared on the in-arena screen that read: “SJ SHARKS FANS LOVE ICE!! GET ‘EM BOYZ!”
The phrase was captured in videos posted on social media and quickly drew attention.
“I’m really surprised to see that at a Sharks game. I’m a big Sharks fan too,” said Daniel Gomez of Fremont. “Very inappropriate, and, honestly, the Sharks should do better. They should do some pre-checks before any of the messages go out.”
“That’s very rude, it’s very offensive, especially because we’re in a big Latino community, and that’s poor judgment of whoever posted that,” Severiano Mercado of San Diego said.
Later in the game, the team issued an on-screen apology, stating in part:
“During the first intermission of tonight’s game, an offensively worded message which had been externally submitted was inadvertently displayed on the in-arena scoreboard. Sharks Sports and Entertainment deeply regrets that this message, which does not meet our organization’s values, was not detected during our standard review process. The Sharks organization sincerely apologizes for this oversight, and we are actively working to determine the origin of the message.”
Gomez said the organization should be more aware of the context and the community it represents.
“That should never go up on the screen no matter what, because at the end of the day you know the environment, you know that crowd that you’re working with, San Jose, big Hispanic community,” Gomez said.
Some fans speculated the message may have been a reference to the ice in ice hockey. Still, they noted the political context is important.
Robert Atkinson, who identified himself as Mexican and a U.S. citizen, said he supports ICE.
“I wouldn’t necessary say ‘love ICE’ on screen, that’s not really the platform that I would use… at a franchise like that,” he said. “But outside of that, I do support them. I personally don’t have an issue with it,” Atkinson said.