Los Angeles Kings Apologize After Armenian Heritage Night Marred By Sale of Turkish Scarves
The Los Angeles Kings whipped up a number of limited-edition items to sell in conjunction with the Armenian Heritage Night it held during a game last month. That included some scarves that forced the team to issue an apology after fans noticed they were made in the one country that needed to be avoided for that particular occasion.
The city of Los Angeles boasts a larger Armenian population than anywhere else in the United States, as more than 500,000 people with ties to the landlocked state in the Caucasus reside in the area as of the most recent census.
On February 22nd, the Los Angeles Kings celebrated that community by holding Armenian Heritage Night when they played Utah Hockey Club, and fans who headed to the arena were able to get their hands on some merch that was made specifically for the night, which included red, blue, and yellow scarves inspired by the country’s flag emblazoned with the team’s logo.
If you’re familiar with Armenian history, you’re likely aware the country is not on good terms with Turkey, as their neighbor to the west was responsible for the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire starting in 1915 that is estimated to have claimed the lives of between 600,000 and 1.5 million people in the massacres and death marches responsible for the bulk of that death toll.
The Armenian genocide remains a very touchy subject, as the Turkish government has spent more than a century denying it ever happened in the first place; as things currently stand, 34 countries officially recognize the event (the United States Congress has passed two bills acknowledging the same sentiment, but neither been signed by the sitting president at the time due to diplomatic concerns).
As a result, it would not be the best idea to incorporate Turkey into an event specifically designed to celebrate Armenian heritage, but the Kings inadvertently managed to do exactly that by sourcing the aforementioned scarves from a manufacturer in the country.
On Saturday, the team released a statement apologizing for the oversight where it said it was “unaware of the item’s production origins” while offering to refund fans who wanted to return them.
