Habs' president apologizes for booing

Complete Pierre Boivin Statement On behalf of the entire Montreal Canadiens organization, I would like to express my deep regret over the conduct displayed by certain fans prior to Thursday night's game against the New York Islanders. During the performance of The Star Spangled Banner, some of the fans in attendance at the Bell Centre chose to express their political beliefs by jeering the American national anthem. It is our firm belief that this kind of behaviour has no place in the context of professional sports. The Montreal Canadiens organization has always held a high respect for its neighbours and friends in the United States, and we look forward to maintaining this strong and positive relationship. We apologize to anyone who may have been offended by this incident, and would encourage all fans at the Bell Centre to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of our game and our two great nations.

MONTREAL (AP) -- The president of the Montreal Canadiens apologized Friday for fans who booed the U.S. national anthem before Thursday night's game against the New York Islanders.

"The Montreal Canadiens organization has always held a high respect for its neighbors and friends in the United States, and we look forward to maintaining this strong and positive relationship," Pierre Boivin said in a statement.

"We apologize to anyone who may have been offended by this incident, and would encourage all fans at the Bell Centre to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of our game and our two great nations."

Before the game, the sellout crowd of 21,273 was asked to "show your support and respect for two great nations" before the singing of the American and Canadian national anthems. But many fans booed throughout The Star-Spangled Banner, apparently expressing displeasure with the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

"It is our firm belief that this kind of behavior has no place in the context of professional sports," Boivin said.

The Islanders won the game 6-3, and afterward New York's Mark Parrish -- who's from Minnesota -- expressed disappointment with the booing.

"I came to the game pretty pumped up, but once I heard that, it really got me going," he said. "So I guess I can thank them a little bit for getting me more pumped up."

Gary Meagher, a league spokesman in Toronto, said the fans' behavior was disappointing but did not reflect widespread resentment.

"We don't expect it's going to turn into a league-wide issue," Meagher said. "We're working with the Canadians today, working through some things to try and deal with the situation. It certainly is an isolated one at this point."

Meagher said the national anthem began being played at hockey games in 1946 to show respect for players returning from World War II. At that time, usually only the home anthem was played.

It wasn't until the 1960s that both anthems were played. It was 1987 before the NHL introduced a rule saying both anthems had to be performed before games involving American and Canadian teams.

 

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