04-11-2023, 02:12 PMsteveoiscool Wrote: I think it's kinda silly to blend real world and fantasy like this. The Russia in the SHL is not the Russia that's bombing Ukraine. Russia has been a hockey powerhouse for as long as hockey has been a professional sport, and that's about the extent of the relevance to a fantasy hockey league. I have no issues with someone not making a Russian player based on their personal beliefs, but making some sort of blanket policy on Russia as a fantasy concept is just a really weird hill to die on.

We have policies in place to prevent any sort of racism, sexism and other forms of discriminatory symbolism from being associated with the "fantasy" league of the SHL. Would you consider that silly? SHL player names have been removed (a prime example is Name Redacted), we have had SHL members in the past suspended for using discriminatory symbolism (ex: the use of the swastika) and have added policies like having personal pronouns displayed for each member in a "fantasy" league to make it a more inclusive environment. These are all prime examples of how the SHL has blended the real world with "fantasy" and would like to ask if you think that is silly?

Why should the league take a different approach to inclusivity and making the league a safe place for all when Russian symbolism is threatening to people of Ukrainian identity? Would you think it is a weird hill to die on if people with the Russian flag and symbolism are trying to kill your extended family, committing war crimes against people of your culture, trying to eradicate your personal identity and bombing a place you see as your ancestral home? Honestly I don't expect people to fully understand unless you are in a position where you feel threatened or discriminated against, just as I cannot fully understand how a woman experiences the negative influences of sexism or people of colour experience racist symbolism or LGBTQ people experience discrimination. In addition, the real world has taken action against the "Russian hockey powerhouse" while considering its historical dominance in the sport as the International Ice Hockey Federation have indefinitely banned Russia from any sort of international hockey competitions. Whether you like to admit it or not real world discriminatory/threatening symbolism can have an extremely negative impact on members of a "fantasy" league.

There were efforts made to try and address this issue when Russia's war in Ukraine first broke out and it didn't really amount to much which is why I think it is important to have this discussion more publicly now.