Canadian sports fans continue to boo the American national anthem—and some are calling for the practice to be banned. Now, top NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reveals the real reason the league refuses to change its anthem policy.
Tensions between the United States and Canada have officially spilled over into the sports world, and this season, Canadian hockey fans have made their stance clear by protesting President Donald Trump. He has threatened Canada with tariffs and suggested the country should become the United States’ “51st state,” while mockingly referring to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “governor.”
In response, Canadian fans have protested before NHL games by booing the American national anthem. A few weeks ago, Trudeau stated that Canadians would continue the protests, and last week, a TVA Sports report claimed that executives from all seven Canadian NHL teams find the booing “embarrassing.” According to the report, these executives have approached the NHL about potentially stopping the anthem tradition to avoid further controversy.
Elliotte Friedman shares real reason
Now, Elliotte Friedman reports that the NHL has no plans to make any changes—and he explains why.
“Obviously, there’s booing going on right now,” Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast. “I heard the league just said, ‘We’re just going to keep the status quo.'”
According to Friedman, the NHL won’t alter its anthem policy because of a few unruly fans. Instead, the league is prioritizing tradition.
“There have been times this has happened before, and their approach has always been to maintain the status quo,” he said. “And that’s exactly what they’re going to do.”
Elliotte Friedman also noted that the NHL believes changing its policy could upset more fans than those currently unhappy with the booing.
“I remember at CBC, there was a time we stopped showing the anthems, and we got so many viewer complaints that we made it policy to bring them back,” Friedman explained. “That’s what we did at the time, and the NHL has the same belief.”
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