MONTREAL (AP) – The president of the Montreal Canadiens apologized Friday for fans who booed the U.S. national anthem before Thursday night’s game against the New York Islanders.
“The Montreal Canadiens organization has always held a high respect for its neighbors and friends in the United States, and we look forward to maintaining this strong and positive relationship,” Pierre Boivin said in a statement.
“We apologize to anyone who may have been offended by this incident, and would encourage all fans at the Bell Centre to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of our game and our two great nations.”
Before the game, the sellout crowd of 21,273 was asked to “show your support and respect for two great nations” before the singing of the American and Canadian national anthems. But many fans booed throughout “The Star-Spangled Banner,” apparently expressing displeasure with the U.S.-led war against Iraq.
“It is our firm belief that this kind of behavior has no place in the context of professional sports,” Boivin said.
The Islanders won the game 6-3, and afterward New York’s Mark Parrish – who’s from Minnesota – expressed disappointment with the booing.
“I came to the game pretty pumped up, but once I heard that, it really got me going,” he said. “So I guess I can thank them a little bit for getting me more pumped up.”
AP-ES-03-21-03 1823EST
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