Air Canada, one of the NHL’s major sponsors, has threatened to pull its sponsorship if the league does not take action to stop the hockey violence, according to various media reports.
Denis Vandal, Air Canada’s director of marketing/communications, sent a letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Wednesday, saying the growing number of headshots and concussions is bad for the company’s brand, QMI Agency reported.
The letter was sent after the league decided not to suspend Zdeno Chara following a crushing hit against Montreal Canadiens’ forward Max Pacioretty, which has left him with a severe concussion and broken vertebrae.
"Unless the NHL takes immediate action with serious suspension to the players in question to curtail these life-threatening injuries, Air Canada will withdraw its sponsorship of hockey,” the letter reportedly states.
"While we support countless sports, arts and community events, we are having difficulty rationalizing our sponsorship of hockey unless the NHL takes responsibility to protect both the players and the integrity of the game,” it continued.
The NHL had ruled, however, that Chara’s hit had “no basis to impose supplemental discipline.”
The professional hockey league has faced recent criticism for what some say are arbitrary decisions concerning suspensions and fines.
Air Canada also owns naming rights to Toronto’s Air Canada Centre and sponsors other Canadian teams.
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