OPINION:
Can I assume that the campaign advertisement featuring Alex Ovechkin promoting the Russian murderer Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party in the country’s parliamentary elections was like a hostage video?
I mean, all I’ve heard from Ovechkin apologists over the years is that the most prominent athlete in Russia and one of the National Hockey League’s biggest stars — a star with a worldwide profile — lives in fear for what might happen to his family if he were to divorce himself from the thug who rules his native country.
Ovechkin can’t say no, I’m told by his supporters. Ovechkin is a political prisoner.
The other option is that one of the most beloved athletes in a city that symbolizes freedom has willingly chosen to support a dictator former President Joseph R. Biden called a war criminal — a murderer responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides on the war Putin launched on Ukraine.
That would mean that Ovechkin, champion of children, continues to publicly support the architect of policies that have led to the disappearance of at least 35,000 Ukrainian children kidnapped and sent to Russia, resulting in Congress last year passing the Abducted Ukrainian Children Recovery and Accountability Act, which seeks to locate and return these missing children and hold those responsible accountable.
In 2023, more than 800 fourth- and fifth-graders from Arlington County schools were invited to attend a Capitals practice and meet the celebrated star. “It’s all about the joy we bring the kids,” Ovechkin told reporters.
Yes, the joy.
I’m sort of surprised by the furor this latest Ovechkin public support of Putin has generated. He’s been doing this since at least 2017, when he announced he was a member of PutinTeam.
“Today, I want to announce a social movement in the name of PutinTeam. Be a part of this team — to me it’s a privilege, it’s like the feeling of when you put on the jersey of the Russian team, knowing that the whole country is rooting for you,” Ovechkin wrote after posting a photo of him embracing Putin.
That ruffled some feathers. Then, when Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, the heat was on hockey great when was asked about his support for the ruler.
“Please, no more war,” Ovechkin told reporters. “It doesn’t matter who is in the war — Russia, Ukraine, different countries — we have to live in peace.”
When he was asked whether he supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ovechkin said, “I’m Russian, right? It’s not something I can control. It’s not in my hands. I hope it’s going to end soon and there’s going to be peace in both countries. I don’t control this one.”
A photo of him and the dictator remains posted as the profile picture on his Instagram account..
I’ve written numerous columns about this disturbing connection, with reaction ranging from indifference to anger — not at Ovechkin but from Capitals fans angry that I wrote about it. I understood that. Collective joy is a rare commodity. There is no doubt that Ovechkin has brought joy to sports fans in this town since his 2005 rookie season. Just two years ago, there was the excitement of him breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record.
To continue to call attention to the elephant in the room seemed useless. So I stopped, even writing about the rare gift of having a fan favorite stay in one place their entire career when Ovechkin, who will be 41 Thursday, was officially signed to return in July for his 22nd season. Like much surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine four years later, people seemed to have become numb to Ovechkin’s relationship with Putin.
This political ad, though, upset some people — including humanitarian chef Jose Andres, a close friend of Capitals owner Ted Leonsis.
“Russia is killing Americans in the Middle East with drones that help Iran. @Capiitals @NHL @ovi8 and what Russians are doing in Ukraine is wrong…killing civilians everyday. Sad day for my beloved DC team.”
That did some damage. That had to be a dagger in Leonsis’ heart, who once touted Andres to be named Time’s “Man of the Year.”
But the official reaction from Leonsis’ hockey team?
“Alex Ovechkin is a Russian citizen who lives in Moscow with his family during the offseason and will live there following his retirement,” the Capitals statement read. “This summer, while in Russia, he was asked by his country to participate in a video campaign. As the longest-tenured athlete in Washington, D.C. and a pillar of the community, his focus and ours is on the season ahead and the continued impact he makes on the ice and in our city.”
Why did they even bother?
On the same day, the U.S. Justice Department announced charges against five individuals working for the intelligence services of the Russian Federation “to conduct attacks and murders around the world, including in the United States.”
Maybe it was a hostage ad.
• You can hear Thom Loverro on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast.
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