After what sounds like a brief “misunderstanding,” two U.S. Olympic athletes won’t be forced to change their patriotic headgear after all.
Team USA women’s hockey goalies Nicole Hensley and Alex Rigsby are playing in the 2018 Winter Olympics wearing goaltender masks that include an American-themed shield, a bald eagle and an image of the Statue of Liberty.
It was originally reported Monday that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that runs afoul of their rules, which may have been a reference to this uniform guideline: “No item may feature the wording or lyrics from national anthems, motivational words, public/political messaging or slogans related to national identity.”
Goaltenders get all the attention and for good reason! Check out USA Hockey womens goalie Nicole Hensley’s new Olympic mask paint job! pic.twitter.com/xhivUSppJW
— Alan E Pettengill (@StanleyCupGuy) February 10, 2018
On Tuesday morning, the official IOC Media Twitter account sent a message saying “there seems to have been a misunderstanding, we have not asked for the symbol to be removed.”
In the meantime, the U.S. team beat the Olympic Athletes from Russia squad 5-0 Tuesday morning to improve to 2-0 in the group stage. Fans can support the team by watching its next game against Canada, Wednesday night at 10:10 p.m. Eastern on NBC Sports Network.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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