National Hockey League (NFL) legend Wayne Gretzky’s statue outside the Edmonton Oilers’ Rogers Place arena in Edmonton, Canada, was defaced recently with feces.
The Toronto Sun reported that feces were found smeared across the face and jersey of the Canadian hockey legend’s statue on March 21. According to CTV News, a CTV News Edmonton photographer captured pictures of the statue’s defacement and observed a strong odor of fecal matter near the statue.
Following the defacement of Gretzky’s statue, Tim Shipton, executive vice president of external affairs for Oilers Entertainment Group, issued a statement to CTV News, saying, “It’s unfortunate over the past several years we’ve had to deal with issues of disorder in our downtown core.”
Shipton added, “We have zero tolerance for vandalism of any kind within our district, especially one of our city’s most iconic landmarks that celebrates the career of Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player to ever play the game, and his special connection with Oilers fans around the world.”
CTV News reported that the statue, which weighs 950 pounds and is over 9 feet tall, was first unveiled in August of 1989 at the former Northlands Coliseum in Canada before being relocated to Rogers Place in 2016.
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The Oilers Entertainment Group spokesperson explained that the recent defacement of the Gretzky statue was under investigation and that the “appropriate next steps” would be taken when more information became available.
The Post Millennial reported that while the motivation behind the defacing of the Gretzky statue has not yet been revealed, the vandalism incident comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Canada due to President Donald Trump’s implementation of tariffs against the U.S. ally and his comments about Canada becoming the “51st state.”
According to The Post Millennial, Gretzky has faced criticism from many Canadians over his friendship with Trump. The outlet noted that the Canadian hockey legend attended both Trump’s inauguration and election victory party prior to the recent vandalism incident.
The Post Millennial reported that a petition was started in Canada for Wayne Gretzky Drive’s name to be changed due to the criticism against the Canadian hockey icon and that labels on Gretzky’s wine brand have been defaced in multiple stores.
Pictures of the feces smeared across the face and jersey of the Gretzky statue in March were shared on X, formerly Twitter, by The New York Post. The outlet also shared a picture of Gretzky appearing alongside the 47th president.
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