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The NHL’s Seattle Kraken received mixed responses Thursday after unveiling 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-lined outline of the team’s signature “S” logo. The team held its Pride Night event on Thursday.
Many users on social media mocked the team for the design.
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The top reply to the team’s original X post read: “Ritual of humiliation 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 moves near the Seattle Kraken logo at center ice before a game between the Arizona Coyotes and the 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 its design.
“At a time when many are hesitant to support the LGBTQ community for fear of retaliation, it’s great to see Seattle standing tall and unapologetic,” one user wrote.
Another fan wrote: “This is 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 feature LGBTQ-themed logos and merchandise in June for Pride Month. However, the Kraken rolled out this new branding six months earlier.
The NHL announced in 2023 that players would no longer be allowed to wear special sweaters at theme nights during warm-ups, including Pride celebrations, Hockey Against Cancer or military recognition celebrations, a policy that was later updated to include Pride tape.
“It further distracts us from the very essence of what these evenings are about,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said at the time. “We stay focused on the match. And on these specialized evenings, we will focus on the cause.”
