NHL’s Seattle Kraken receives mixed reactions to Pride-themed logo, jerseys
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The NHL’s Seattle Kraken received mixed responses Thursday after revealing a new Pride-themed logo and uniforms.
The logo features a rainbow-colored unicorn with its body contorted into the shape of the letter “S” placed within a rainbow-bordered outline of the team’s typical “S” logo. The team hosted its Pride Night event on Thursday.
Many users on social media mocked the team for the design.
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My favorite response to the team’s original X post read: “Humiliation ritual for your players.”
Another user wrote: “We must defeat the Woke Mind virus.”
One user jokingly called the team “The Seattle Karen’s.”
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A Zamboni rides near the Seattle Kraken logo at center ice before a game between the Arizona Coyotes and Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on February 9, 2022 in Seattle. (Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images)
However, many other fans were quick to praise the Kraken for the design.
“In a time when many shy away from supporting the LGBTQ community for fear of retaliation, it’s amazing to see Seattle standing strong and unapologetic,” one user wrote.
Another fan wrote: “These are hard.”
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The scoreboard before the annual Celebrating Pride game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Place on January 18, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
Many professional sports teams will debut LGBTQ-themed logos and merchandise during June for Pride month. However, Kraken launched this new brand six months earlier.
The NHL announced in 2023 that players would no longer be allowed to wear special sweaters for theme nights during warm-ups, including Pride, Hockey Fights Cancer or military appreciation celebrations, a policy that was later updated to include Pride tape.
“That has become a distraction from the true essence of the purpose of these nights,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said at the time. “We will keep the focus on the game. And on these special nights, we will be focused on the cause.”
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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to Title IX enforcement and in mainstream media outlets such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The News and ESPN.com.