Several of the NWHL’s stars have posted tweets that have alienated many of the league’s fans, but concerns have been largely ignored
It’s been a big year for women’s ice hockey in America – Team USA won gold at the Winter Olympics and their victory over Canada in the final broke viewing records. Coming off the increased profile from that victory, the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) announced that they’d be expanding to include a fifth team, the Minnesota Whitecaps. But despite these gains, the league is at risk of alienating a large part of their existing fanbase — something a new, small league can’t afford to do.
The most recent controversy began when the Whitecaps announced the signing of several new players, including forward Lauren Barnes. Shortly thereafter, screenshots of tweets Barnes had “liked” from her Twitter account began making the rounds on Twitter. These tweets included a tweet from conservative painter Jon McNaughton that said, “I’ve had enough of Jesus Christ being kicked out of everything, replaced by LGBTQ and Islamic propaganda” and a xenophobic tweet from President Trump that supported building a wall along the Mexican border, and trotted out the old cliches about America being “under siege”.
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