Passionate NHL fans are likely familiar with the MassMutual commercial that features Washington Capitals superstar captain Alex Ovechkin and Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, as the spot had run throughout the 2021-22 season.
That will no longer be the case going forward.
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported Tuesday that MassMutual has pulled the commercial as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said that “the ad is no longer on the air.” The company added its relationship with Ovechkin is limited to that one commercial, which was still available on the official MassMutual YouTube account as of early Tuesday evening.
Ovechkin is a native of Moscow and has long been a public supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Per Rick Westhead of TSN, equipment company CCM Hockey has announced it will stop using Ovechkin and other Russian-born NHL players in global marketing initiatives.
“We are very sad to witness, like the rest of the world, what is happening in Ukraine,” CCM chief executive Marrouane Nabih wrote in an email. “Although Mr. Ovechkin is not responsible for the Russian government’s actions, we took the decision to not use him (or any Russian player) on any global CCM communication at this point.”
While Ovechkin pleaded for peace and for “no more war” in comments offered last week, he did not distance himself from his support for Putin.
“Well, he is my president,” the future Hall of Famer said at that time. “But how I said, I am not in politics. I am an athlete and you know, how I said, I hope everything is going to be done soon. It’s (a) hard situation right now for both sides and everything. Everything I hope is going to end. I’m not in control of this situation.”
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