The head of the NHL said that Ovechkin’s political views are not a problem for the league
According to Gary Bettman, what is happening in Ovechkin’s homeland is not an NHL problem, and he would not rush to condemn a player whose family lives in Russia
The political views of Russian Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin are not an issue for the NHL. This was stated by the league commissioner Gary Bettman, quoted by Yle.
Alexander is an outstanding player with impressive achievements. What’s going on at home, whether it’s his political views or whatever, is not an issue for the NHL. I would not rush to condemn a player whose family still lives in Russia, Bettman said.
According to the NHL commissioner, "None of us know what situation he's in." “It would be unfair to expect him to take any concrete action — or, conversely, inaction — regarding events in his homeland,” Bettman said.
In September, Ovechkin, the top scorer in the history of the NHL regular championships, faced a wave of criticism for filming in the election video of the United Russia party. Along with him, in particular, were filmed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, actor Vladimir Mashkov. When asked by journalists after the video was published, Ovechkin said: “Russia is my home...” And when I'm done playing hockey, I'll probably live there. My children, my family will live there.”.
