No player in history has been able to see the game like Wayne Gretzky. But, when it comes to imperial hypocrisy the NHL’s all-time assist leader couldn’t find Alex Ovechkin alone in the slot.
At a Hockey Hall of Fame event in Toronto on Friday Gretzky was asked about Ottawa’s decision to defy a Court of Arbitration for Sport order to allow Russia and Belarus to return to international hockey competitions. In response to Ottawa saying it would prevent teenage athletes from entering the country for next month’s World Junior Championships Gretzky said, “I understand the stance the prime minister is taking, and good for him. He’s made that stance and he’s made it clear. I think a lot of the players and the people of Canada feel the same way.”
Hypocrisy much Wayne.
At the same press conference, the Great One was asked about supporting Donald Trump, which includes attending his election-night celebration and presidential inauguration. But he wasn’t questioned about Trump bombing nine countries and Gretzky didn’t mention his friend’s horrendous violence, including 10,000 strikes on Iran in 40 days. Since that time the US has launched periodic strikes and Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with apocalyptic violence, stating on Thursday “I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I will have to.”
Does Gretzky think the US should be excluded from sports competitions?
Who could seriously argue that Belarus should be banned from sports competitions before the US or Israel? That country hasn’t bombed or invaded anyone (similar to the Canadian forces’ ties to the US, Belarus’ military is integrated with Russia’s and it allowed its large neighbour to use its territory to invade Ukraine, which is akin to Canada granting US military aircraft the right to fly through Canadian airspace to bomb Iran.)
In the preamble to his endorsement of Carney’s move against Russian and Belarusian athletes, Gretzky said, “nobody likes war, right?” But he backs a politician bombing multiple countries and explicitly supported two wars on Iraq. Days after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, Gretzky said, “President Bush is a great leader, and I stand behind him 100 percent.”
Gretzky also backed the first Iraq war. He signed a celebrity statement supporting the troops and praised fans at the 1991 NHL all-star game who brought flags and pro-war messages saying, “Americans really know how to rally behind a cause.”
An advocate of Western imperialism in the Middle East, Gretzky supported Stephen Harper’s substantial role in the 2014 ouster of neutral minded elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. Just after Canada’s foreign minister rallied with protesters seeking to oust the elected president and the Canadian embassy was used as a base by opponents of Yanukovich, Gretzky praised Harper’s policy in that country at a United for Ukraine Gala organized by ardent Russophobe and Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. The 2014 coup lead to Russia’s seizure of Crimea and the civil war in the Donbass, which contributed to the 2022 Russian invasion.
It’s not surprising that Wayne Gretzky backs excluding Russian and Belarusian athletes from the World Junior Championship. He’s long aligned with imperialist Western foreign policy.
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