Women’s hockey stars announce boycott in demand for 1 league
Posted May 2, 2019 8:04 am.
Last Updated May 2, 2019 10:24 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Unhappy with the status quo, more than 200 of the world’s top female hockey players declared Thursday they will not compete in North America next season in a dramatic attempt to establish a single, economically viable professional league.
The players announced their decision in a joint statement released to The Associated Press before being posted on social media in a move that has the potential of drawing the NHL further into the conversation of backing women’s hockey. The group includes stars such as Americans Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne Schofield and Canadian national team goalie Shannon Szabados.
The players pulled together in a united front in less than a month and said they wanted to express their dissatisfaction with the current state of the sport while demanding a say in establishing a league.
“We’re not playing anywhere professionally in North America. We just want to build something better,” Knight told The AP. “Now, what that looks like could be a handful of different things. But our main purpose and goal is to promote the growth of the game and increase the visibility. But ultimately, we need the sustainability factor to make us all feel better about what we’re doing on a daily basis.”