The day that honors the end of slavery was celebrated unanimously across most sports leagues, with some notable exceptions.
One was the Detroit Lions, who confused fans with their decision not to post any materials in support of Juneteenth.
‘It must have been an accident.’
Given that Juneteenth was first recognized as a holiday in 2021 by President Joe Biden, it is not unusual for the day to be overlooked by the common sports fan. For most pro sports teams though, every possible iteration of race or cultural politics typically gets marked down on the calendar.
This was why football fans were confused when the Lions opted not to post anything for Juneteenth, with one Lions supporter assuming “it must have been an accident.”
“Just go look at the Lions profile picture,” the fan noted; the Lions’ X photo features transgender and gay pride colors.
There was no mention of the new holiday from the National Hockey League either, Fox News reported.
The league is only a week removed from the last game of the Stanley Cup Finals, so it is possible employees are on hiatus. However, the NHL has been deeply involved in diversity efforts for years — especially since the Black Lives Matter era — making this a strange move for the league as well.
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Some players in the league previously complained the NHL wasn’t doing enough to support diversity, even after the hiring of a woman named Kim Davis to serve as the executive vice president of social impact, growth initiatives, and legislative affairs.
With a goal to bring diversity to the league and its C-suite, Davis described hockey as a “tribe” that needs to “feel more welcoming.”
This eventually led to the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, which has since wreaked havoc on the league with its initiatives.
Blaze News previously reported on the league-wide controversies surrounding Pride jerseys, Pride tape, and player backlash.
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Still, NFL fans seemed split on the latest issue online, either dragging the Lions organization for not supporting Juneteenth or being puzzled as to why they support other progressive celebrations if they are able to avoid this one.
“I just find it wild that they can support LGBTQ but not black people especially since most of their team is Black,” an X user wrote.
Another reaction from the story had one fan saying they had grown to hate the “weird idea of social media telling teams what to do.”
With the Lions as the lone standout in the NFL, they join the Texas Rangers of the MLB who similarly are the only team in their league not to celebrate gay pride with a dedicated night.
The Lions and the NHLPA, which runs the Player Inclusion Coalition along with the NHL, did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
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