A statue of Wayne Gretzky in his Ontario hometown of Brantford got a red-and-white makeover, but it wasn’t anything to do with his Canadian heritage.
According to Toronto Life, on Monday morning a statue of the hockey legend was found to be adorned with a red and white ‘Make America Great Again’ hat, a piece of apparel tied to U.S. President Donald Trump — a close friend of Gretzky.
Gretzky has been heavily criticized for his close ties to Trump and his failure to speak out regarding the American leader’s rhetoric about making Canada the “51st state.”
A temporary plaque was placed at the scene, naming the display ‘The Great One’s Ruin’ and crediting the author as Avarice – which is defined as “extreme greed for wealth or material gain.”
“Alright, folks, can we stop treating Gretzky like a hero?” the plaque reads. “Back in the day, he was a real beaut on the ice — ripping clapper, lighting the lamp and making goalies question their life choices. But now he can’t stop playing putt-putt with Epstein’s top-shelf bud. Gretzky’s turned into a puck bunny for Trump, and I don’t think he’s deking us out.”
The plaque appears to reference Trump’s ties to late convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Gretzky’s several golf outings with the current U.S. president.
The message goes on to credit Walter Gretzky, Wayne’s late dad, as a “real champ” and a “true north gem.”
“Wayne’s got the Cups, sure, but Walter has Canada’s heart,” the plaque reads.
“If Rideau Hall has got a spare Order of Canada kickin’ around, maybe scratch off a name and give it to the real Gretzky MVP.”
The vandals also placed a replica of an Order of Canada medal on the nearby statue of Walter, as well as a red Santa hat.
Walter actually was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2007.
Wayne was named as a companion to the Order of Canada in 2009 after being named a member in 1984. While he has received his first medal for the honour, he has yet to pick up his second medal because he doesn’t want more accolades.
“I got my medal and I told them I don’t need two,” Gretzky told the Toronto Sun‘s Joe Warmington earlier this year, adding he asked them to give it to “somebody else that is more deserving than me.”
What did the City of Brantford say?
The statues are installed outside of Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre and were unveiled in 2013. They pay tribute to the Gretzky family, with parents Phyllis and Walter holding hands with a young Wayne, who is wearing a Gordie Howe sweater, looking up at grown-up Wayne hoisting the Stanley Cup for Edmonton.
A spokesperson for the City of Brantford confirmed that the statues were vandalized and the items were promptly removed.
“We can confirm that hats were placed on the Gretzky statues at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre earlier this week, including a Santa hat and a red baseball cap and that these items were promptly removed,” the spokesperson said, as per Daily Hive.
“While the City respects the right of individuals to express their opinions, vandalizing or altering City property is not an appropriate way to do so. We encourage people to share their views respectfully through more constructive channels.”
Feces smeared on statue
As far as vandalizing statues of the Canadian hockey legend, this instance was fairly tame.
The bronze statue of Gretzky that stands outside of Edmonton’s Rogers Place was splattered with feces in March, with multiple reports on social media showing the statue of a Stanley Cup-toting Gretzky covered with dung across the face and on the part of the jersey where a captain’s C would usually appear.
A report by CTV also said that the photographer “noted the smell of fecal matter surrounding the statue,” which was unveiled in 1989 at the old Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton before being moved to the new downtown arena in 2016.
The Great One made headlines last week when he didn’t fare too great at reading out a few names of countries during the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup