gilt by association

Symmetrical irises from a couple years ago - now in blue!

members of the austrian women's hockey team have come forward about their unequal and misogynistic treatment by the austrian ice hockey federation. they are given very poor accomodations, they have to sleep in bunk beds and change in unheated rooms, and they are given the ill-fitting hand me downs of the men's equipment

they are not compensated fairly and their work and school is not taken into account. they requested a meeting to discuss the new compensation model and the federation did not care and even fired multiple staff members with whom the women's team had positive relations. the team has hired a lawyer to represent them because the situation has escalated so far. multiple of the team's best players will not be attending the upcoming event in slovakia and they are even considering skipping worlds if treatment does not improve. the team feels harassed and bullied by the federation!

this is just awful and completely unnecessary treatment by the federation. i am also so proud of the austrian women's team for advocating for themselves and for how successful they've been in spite of this treatment!

and the paws!

and just a little bit of style

netflix is making a hockey show called "the sticks" that is based on a very real tragedy that occured in canada in 2018.

the show follows a minnesota high school team after their bus crashes and coming back to hockey afterwards.

in 2018, the humboldt broncos' (a junior A team made up of 18-22 year olds) bus was hit by a tractor trailer on a highway intersection. 16 people (10 players, 2 coaches, and 4 team staff members) were killed, along with 13 other players severely injured.

the memory of the humboldt broncos crash is an incredibly sensitive subject carrying a lot of trauma to both the survivors, their families, and deceased's families. the trajectory of hockey in canada was changed significantly after this tragedy.

despite this, netflix has decided to make a show using the death of young hockey players for profit. they did not consult the survivors, nor the deceased's families. they stole a canadian story for a feel-good cash grab.

None of the families even knew about this show until the media started asking how they felt.

It is taking a tragedy and turning it into a cash cow.

This was such a deeply-felt issue that even the truck driver pleaded guilty and has tried to make amends. (And as he is facing deportation after his sentence, some of the families have even started supporting him being allowed to stay in the country.) There is a real story you could be telling about community and resilience that is not just turning one of the worst days for THE NATION into cheap thrills and sensationalism.