MONTREAL — Fans in Montreal expressed their frustration by loudly booing the U.S. national anthem before the highly-anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off game between the United States and the host country, Canada, on Saturday night.
This incident marks the second consecutive game in which “The Star-Spangled Banner” received a similar reaction from the crowd at this NHL-run international tournament.
Before the anthem, public address announcer Michel Lacroix urged the audience, in both French and English, to “kindly respect the anthems and the players that represent each country” in the spirit of international camaraderie.
However, this time, the booing was notably more intense, with a larger portion of the audience at Bell Centre participating compared to the previous U.S. game against Finland, with the discontent lasting for the entire duration of the national song.
U.S. starting goaltender Connor Hellebuyck downplayed the incident, stating, “You have free speech. You can do whatever you want. If you’re going to boo the anthem, we sing it for the troops that protected our freedom. That doesn’t really mean anything to me.”
U.S. coach Mike Sullivan emphasized the team’s focus on the game, stating, “That’s really not something that we can control. We just want to play hockey. We want to compete. We want to represent our nation in the right way.”
The trend of booing the U.S. anthem at NHL and NBA games across Canada has intensified in recent years, particularly following contentious remarks from former U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Canada and trade relations.
Veteran Canadian defenseman Drew Doughty expressed his disagreement with the booing, saying, “I understand the Canadians’ frustration, but I think we should respect the anthems. I don’t think anyone should be booing.”
