Big League Reports: The National Hockey League initially launched a “Pathway to Hockey Summit” that was only limited to individuals who “identify as female, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and/or a person with a disability.” However, the NHL has apparently reversed course by opening up their summit to individuals ages 18 and up after the office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pressured the sports organization to open its access to people of all races. 

According to a report by Florida Voice, the change came after DeSantis’ press secretary, Bryan Griffin commented about the NHL’s move in a press release, where he stated the following: 

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. We are fighting all discrimination in our schools and our workplaces, and we will fight it in publicly accessible places of meeting or activity.

Similarly, Christina Pushaw, who previously worked as DeSantis’ press secretary, tweeted, “@NHL: You are officially on notice about your planned events in Florida. Unlawful discrimination will not be tolerated.”