Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slammed the National Hockey League (NHL) in a statement Friday afternoon after the league posted what the state deemed to be a “discriminatory” job posting.
“The NHL is proud to announce its first-ever Pathway to Hockey Summit launching during our 2023 All Star festivities in South Florida!” the NHL said in the job posting on LinkedIn. “The Pathway to Hockey Summit is a career event for diverse job seekers who are pursuing careers in hockey. The day will be filled with guest speakers and panelists, networking opportunities, and more!”
The event takes place on February 2 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the deadline to register for it is today.
“If you are looking for your opportunity to meet with recruiters from the NHL League Office and at least 10 of our NHL teams, we welcome you to register,” the posting said. “Participants must be 18 years of age or older, based in the U.S., and identify as female, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and/or a person with a disability. Veterans are also welcome and encouraged to attend.”
Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for the governor, responded to the news in a statement, saying that this type of discriminatory job posting will not be tolerated in the state of Florida and that the league needs to “immediately remove and denounce the discriminatory prohibitions it has imposed.”
“Discrimination of any sort is not welcome in the state of Florida, and we do not abide by the woke notion that discrimination should be overlooked if applied in a politically popular manner or against a politically unpopular demographic,” DeSantis’ office said in a statement. “We are fighting all discrimination in our schools and our workplaces, and we will fight it in publicly accessible places of meeting or activity.”
“We call upon the National Hockey League to immediately remove and denounce the discriminatory prohibitions it has imposed on attendance to the 2023 ‘Pathway to Hockey’ summit,” the statement continued.
Story cited here.
