This is a petition to boycott the NHL because it continues to fund Russia's crimes against humanity currently being committed in Ukraine.

Every major business, organization, and sports league has done everything possible and made significant sacrifices to stop the flow of money into Russia in order to pressure Russia to stop their barbaric, inhuman genocide in Ukraine.  That is, every major company and sports league except the NHL.  The commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, and NHL owners are pretending this isn’t happening.  NHL teams are paying tens of millions of dollars to players who openly support Vladimir Putin and Russia’s illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.  

This is not a political issue.  This is an issue of human dignity and standing up to people committing crimes against humanity.  NHL players have done the wrong thing by supporting Putin’s murderous regime, publicly spreading ridiculous Russian propaganda advocating violence against Ukrainians, and remaining silent in the face of disgusting atrocities that Russians are committing.  The NHL has long benefitted from bringing Russian players to North America.  This has never been an issue - until now.  When athletes publicly support and advocate for crimes against humanity and NHL teams continue to pay them tens of millions of dollars to support those crimes, this becomes an issue we can longer ignore.

The NHL is the only major sports organization not trying to stop the flow of money to Russia.  FIFA, Formula 1, Wimbledon, the Boston Marathon, rugby, gymnastics, volley ball have all banned Russian athletes in an effort to stop funding Russia’s atrocities.

The aim of this petition is to

1.       Stop the flow of money into Russia to stop their ability to continue their illegal, unprovoked and barbaric actions in Ukraine

2.       Bring public attention to those who are complicit in Vladimir Putin’s regime and Russia’s crimes against humanity

3.       Convince the NHL, NHL teams, team owners, and NHL players to use their influence to bring public attention to this unfolding tragedy so that the entire civilized world unites against the torture, rape, and murder that Russians are currently committing in Ukraine.

Alexander Ovechkin campaigned for Putin, creating a social media campaign, "Team Putin", to try to influence others to support Putin.  He also uses his fame and social media status to spread completely absurd Russian propaganda.  He posted photos of himself holding a sign claiming that Russia is invading Ukraine to "save children from Fascists".  

In fact, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelinskyy is Jewish, his grandfather fought against Nazi Germany, and he lost is great grandfather and 3 great uncles in the Holocaust.  But what's more disgusting is that Russia has already killed over 10,000 Ukrainian civilians and hundreds of children.  They are purposely targeting civilian targets.  And Ovechkin continues to support Russia and is getting paid by the NHL.  

Other NHL players, such as Semyon Varlamov, have also used social media to show their support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

What is happening in Ukraine right now is not a surprise.  Putin has been using barbaric wars, murder, and ridiculous propaganda for over 20 years. Look at any newspaper articles, books, or podcasts about Russian politics, society, or economics and you will hear about Putin's countless murders. Ovechkin and Varlamov know exactly who they are supporting.  

Yet Ted Leonsis and his Washington Capitols organization continue to pay Ovechkin millions of dollars.  And the New York Islanders organization, let by owners Jon Ledecky, Dewey Shay, and Scott D. Maklin, are trying to pretend that they aren’t funding Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine through players like Varlamov.

Looking at the behavior of the Russian state over the past 10 years, cyberwarfare in Ukraine and Saudi Arabia, killing innocent civilians in Syria and Ukraine, and using social media to disrupt democratic countries, Russia is clearly off the rails and Ovechkin and Varlamov are supporting it.  Ovechkin's statement that he doesn't want war is a meaningless attempt to deflect attention from his support of Putin's crimes against humanity.  He DID NOT say that he is against the invasion of Ukraine.  He DID NOT say that he is against the targeting of innocent people.  He DID NOT say that he is not financial contributing to the Russian regime’s illegal actions. These Associated Press stories are 2 small examples of the war crimes being committed by Russians - 20 Days in Mariupol', Open your eyes, my sunshine! My reason to live!" — 15-year-old boy and a baby among the dead in Russian attack on Kharkiv(Caution: this is very disturbing).

With this boycott we pledge to:

1.       Not watch any NHL games

2.       Not attend any NHL games

3.       Not pay for any NHL services or subscriptions

4.       Not buy any products or services from major NHL sponsors, such as Adidas, Apple, AWS, EA, SAP, Chipotle, Honda, Enterprise, Verizon, TikTok (see full list)

Boycott NHL until:

                1. The league stops paying players who openly support Putin and Russia's illegal invasion of a sovereign country and crimes against humanity

                2. The league issues a statement clearly and unambiguously condemning Vladimir Putin and Russia crimes against humanity in Ukraine, AND those who financial support these actions

 

This is not a war, this is not "just" an aggressor invading a neighboring sovereign country, this is genocide, including the rape, torture, and murder of thousands of innocent civilians.  Russia is deliberately targeting civilians in their barbaric attacks on Ukraine.  This is really happening!!!  We can no longer pretend and turn our backs on what Russia is doing to Ukrainians.