Fans attack ‘classless’ NHL for cutting cancer donation by $800,000 after missed shot | NHL
The NHL faced backlash after cutting its donation to cancer research by $800,000 following a missed shot during a charity promotion.
The incident occurred during Sunday’s game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins. Rob Higgins, the CEO of University of South Florida athletics, was brought onto the ice to attempt a shot through a very small opening in an empty goal. If Higgins, who survived cancer, made the shot, the NHL said it would donate $500,000 to cancer charities; if it was missing, the donation would be $100,000. The event was broadcast live on Sportsnet in Canada and ESPN in the United States. Higgins missed what was a very difficult shot. He was then given another chance, with a guaranteed $200,000 if he missed, which would increase to $1 million if he scored. Higgins missed again.
Higgins thanked the Lightning and the NHL for the “incredible honor,” but many on social media attacked the league for leaving $800,000 on the table that could have gone to charity.
One story said the move was “classless,” adding that “the NHL should have built the widest net and asked dozens of survivors to symbolically score.” Another user called the event “dystopian.”
Higgins was a little more optimistic. “And with that, my hockey career (which thankfully only lasted two shots) is now officially over,” he wrote on X.
