New York Islanders Thomas Greiss Causes a Stir

New York Islanders goaltender, Thomas Greiss, caused a stir when he liked some questionable posts on social media and whether he supports those issues or not, he wasn’t wrong to do it.

Thomas Greiss recently released an apology for some questionable posts the Islanders goaltender liked. Social media is a mishmash of voices and opinions and Greiss is no different in having one.

Hockey as a whole tends to stay out of politics and social issues. Maybe it’s because the sport itself is generally white, middle to upper class, and historically predominantly made out of Canadian men. Rocking the boat isn’t exactly their forte.

New York Islanders

Some like it that way. Keep all of the noise out of our game. For some, it’s an escape from the stresses of everyday life. Others, though, see it as a platform, not unlike Hollywood. In the United States, Hollywood was loud when the noise was – and is – very much needed.

Sports, Colin Kaepernick aside, generally isn’t.

Maybe Greiss fully supports the tweets he liked. There are sides to these guys that we don’t know about because they aren’t open or noisy about anything.

That’s a shame. More and more the world needs voices. Whether we agree with them or not, it can’t just be the victims and the marginalized speaking up. There has to be a limit to how afraid we are to insult someone – or lose business – with what we believe. 

Greiss is no different even if we don’t share his opinion or feel differently about him for it.

Next: Summer of Garth 2.0

The apologies should be in the silence. Give people the ability to hear the voices. Let them make a choice towards discourse, reading a book, educating themselves, and yes, putting that shirt in the bottom of a drawer or selling it on eBay.