Apology unneeded for supporting law enforcement
There is never an inappropriate time to support law enforcement. The Boston Bruins apparently need a refresher on this concept as we’ve seen their resolve weaken on a couple of notable occasions this summer.
When Boston Globe reporter Matthew Porter tweeted a statement about the Bruins players’ intentions to lock arms out of support for the Black community, he accompanied it with a curt statement reading, “And then there is this,” which was linked to a picture of Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask wearing a Boston Police hat during a television interview.
The obvious contention by the reporter was that a symbol of law enforcement was antithetical to the show of support for the Black community.
Rask felt compelled to address the ensuing controversy that unfolded as a result of the reporter’s political activism.
“I just put a hat on in the morning,” said Rask. “It was not a statement. I definitely respect what’s going on in the world right now, and I stand with everybody for anti-racism.”
Rask’s teammate Brad Marchand also spoke up, explaining that the hat “doesn’t change the fact that we all stand united against trying to end racism and being part of that solution.”
The Bruins have bent over backwards to signal their support of the BLM movement in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police in May.
“Black lives matter,” a statement released by the team in June read.
“Bigotry, ignorance and senseless violence in any and all forms is wrong. … We are a hockey club, and sometimes it is hard to know when, where and how to comment on issues that challenge the freedom and wellbeing of our community. We want to be honest and we want to be accountable and we want to be leaders.”
Last week, the Bruins posted pictures on social media showing player Charlie Coyle shooting baskets in Toronto.
It wasn’t long before the website tbdailynews.com ran a story suggesting that the team had Photoshopped a police logo off of Coyle’s T-shirt. Indeed, the site posted alternative pictures seeming to corroborate their contention.
The same Globe reporter, Matthew Porter referred to the story as “quite clearly fabricated.”
However, days later, the Bruins came forward and admitted that they had indeed Photoshopped the shirt and removed the logo.
“Last week the Bruins removed a BPD logo from a T-shirt that a player was wearing,” the statement read. “We were trying to protect this player from unfair criticism. This was not meant as a sign of disrespect in any way. We are sorry that the logo was removed and we apologize to the Boston Police Department and the player.”
No one should need protection from criticism for supporting law enforcement. Such protection is only needed because we have let the steady demonization of police become mainstream.
Police are on the clock 24/7 protecting all of us and often risking their lives doing so. We are seldom asked to stand up for them and defend their work but when those opportunities present themselves we must loudly declare our support for the men and women in blue.
It is good that the Boston Bruins eventually did the right thing but we need influential institutions everywhere to re-embrace common sense and common decency and show an iota of the courage law enforcement does each day by honoring and defending them at the very least.