VANCOUVER —
Social media staff at the Vancouver Canucks have deleted a tweet and issued an apology after many online complained of a reference of George Floyd
The original tweet was sent out shortly before the Canucks faced off against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday evening.
In the graphic posted by the official twitter account of the Vancouver Canucks, comparisons were made between the two cities.
The graphic compared Vancouver culture of sushi restaurants, film, weather and celebrities to those of Minnesota.
It then listed things they had in common such as, “Extremely nice people”, “Yet to hoist the cup,” and “Justice for George Floyd.”
It’s the last comment that caused backlash and criticism from local organizers of Vancouver’s Freedom March.
“I am utterly appalled that an organization full of adults finds this appropriate,” said Nova Stevens.
“It’s very upsetting that people think this kind of behaviour is acceptable. Using a dead man’s name to promote yourself is the worst kind of human decency because it shows a lack of empathy.”
Less than an hour after the original post, a staff member with the Canucks tweeted an apology.
“I’m responsible for that graphic and apologize to everyone I offended,” wrote Derek Jory whose bio says he’s the a writer and social media for the Canucks.
“My intent in including Justice for George Floyd in the middle column was to continue the BlackLivesMatter conversation with a fact we all agree on, but that was not the impact. I was wrong. I’m sorry,” Jory added.
Social media expert and host of Get Connected TV Mike Agerbo said he’s sure the Canucks organization did not mean to be disrespectful in any way but it is a slippery slope when it comes to messaging with large audiences.
“I always make sure I have additional eyes whatever I may be posting that could be sensitive. You can have friends and colleagues looks over the post to make sure they are relevant and not going to cause any problems,” he said.
