NHL's Jamie Benn Slammed for Liking Transphobic Post
National Hockey League player Jamie Benn is in hot water after liking a transphobic post by conservative talking head Candace Owens, Pink News reports.
The captain of the Dallas Stars liked an Instagram video posted by Owen in which she said Donald Trump is a "feminist icon" because of a speech he gave at the Conservative Political Action Committee on Sunday in which he slammed transgender women athletes. Trump, as usual, dog-whistled the crowd with false claims that "a lot of new records are being broken in women's sports" because cisgender women are being compelled to compete with, as Trump said, "biological males."
Social media users were quick to point out that Benn's liking of Owens' post is available for the public to see, and that he had never expressed any kind of support for women's sports up until now. Many comments also point out that by liking Owens' post, Benn's recent support of the LGBTQ community — posing for a photo in which he holds a rainbow colored hockey stick — is merely performative.
Chris Mosier, a trans triathlete, took to Twitter, writing, "File under: PERFORMATIVE ALLYSHIP.
"Randomly seeing Jamie Benn's like on a blatantly anti-trans post is a direct contradiction to the messaging of Pride Tape/NHL.
To hold Pride Tape and then be in agreement of anti-trans statements means it's all for show — so many LGBTQ+ fans really take it to heart when they see their favourite players supporting them publicly with this taped stick. It's a big deal.
"Trans kids are being crushed by state lawmakers and singled out for discrimination. That trans community and their allies need people in sports who will uplift them and be by their sides — not just for the photo, not just for Pride Month, outright now when it really matters"
Neither Benn nor the Dallas Stars have commented yet.
This controversy comes on the heels of the Alabama Senate passing a bill on Tuesday that would incriminate medical professionals providing transition-related care to anyone under age 19, a felony punishable by a 10-year prison sentence or a $15,000 fine. As if that weren't already bad enough, the Alabama bill also compels school teachers to inform parents if their child indicates they might be transgender — or, to "out" transgender children if their "perception that his or her gender is inconsistent with his or her sex." The bill puts the well-being of transgender youth at severe risk.
Others on social media have taken Benn to task: