Alex Ovechkin is facing a torrent of criticism after American media discovered he had appeared in an election campaign ad for Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party ahead of this week’s Russian elections. Facing the cameras last night, the Washington Capitals captain and future NHL Hall of Famer insisted he "wasn’t into politics," and just supports his country, adding he wants "peace and love for everyone." This is, of course, nonsense. So is the tsunami of outrage from anyone calling for his punishment and dismissal.
Ovechkin didn’t threaten anyone, incite violence or express hatred against Ukrainians. He made a peaceful partisan endorsement—it just happened to be one that millions of Americans find repellent. If that alone is enough to decide he should no longer be allowed to play hockey, then there are many athletes at the peak of American sport who must also be shown the door.
Ovechkin does not actually speak in the United Russia advert. The NHL's all-time leading goal scorer stands by Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who delivers a message warning opponents of Moscow to "expect no mercy, we will rise together, as we do today." Besides Ovechkin, the Kremlin official was flanked by luminaries such as Editor-in-Chief of RT Margarita Simonyan, actor Vladimir Mashkov and singer Tatyana Kurtukova. When pressed by journalists this week, the 41-year-old’s rationale for supporting United Russia was simply: "I am Russian, I support my country." He followed this with a string of empty platitudes that included "I hope peace and love for everybody," "I’m not into politics," and "it doesn't matter who you are, American, Russian or Ukrainian.
I hope everything's gonna be good." Unfortunately for him, supporting United Russia does not equate to simply supporting your country—no matter how much Putin may want that to be true. Nor can Ovechkin claim his actions aren’t political in nature. The hockey star didn’t appear in an ad for the Moscow board of tourism.
He openly supported Russia’s dominant political party, synonymous with a man who has effectively ruled the country for a quarter century and whose armed forces are leading an imperial conquest of a neighboring sovereign state while routinely hitting its civilians with drones and missiles. "Peace and love" doesn’t cut it, I’m afraid. Neither does the double standard Ovechkin is being held to.
When the ad surfaced, Republican Rep. Joe Wilson wrote to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis asking the league to review Ovechkin’s appearance and clarify its rules on players participating in foreign political campaigns. Hall of Fame goalie Dominik Hasek, a longtime critic who has previously called for Russian NHL players to be suspended, said the advert amounted to support for Russia’s war.
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