The San Jose Sharks issued an apology after a message on their arena’s scoreboard appeared to praise ICE — the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
To make matters worse, the fan-submitted message was displayed at SAP Center during the team’s ninth annual ‘Los Tiburones Night,’ which is the Sharks’ celebration of “the team’s commitment to the Bay Area’s vibrant Hispanic community,” according to the club’s website.
During the first intermission of the Sharks game on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a personalized message was posted reading “SJ SHARKS FANS LOVE ICE !! GET ‘EM BOYZ!”
The incident quickly went viral on social media, with video from inside the arena showing fans booing the message.
In a statement posted on X late Saturday night, the team apologized for the “offensive” message.
“During the first intermission of tonight’s game, an offensively worded message which had been externally submitted was inadvertently displayed on the in-arena scoreboard,” the team wrote.
“Sharks Sports & Entertainment said the message did not reflect the organization’s values and had not been detected during its standard review process. The team expressed deep regret and said it is investigating the origin of the message.”
One Sharks fan said that she and her group were “appalled” by the message and that it should’ve been caught before getting posted on the scoreboard/
“They’re my favourite team — I even have tattoos — but this was something that should’ve been caught,” Jessica Clark told CNN.
It also was a bad night for the Sharks down on the ice. San Jose was shut out by the Penguins 3-0 to fall to 0-3-2 on the season. They are the only team in the NHL that has yet to win a game.