New cold war: Are sanctions against Russian hockey players fair?
As the Velvet Revolution raged in Czechoslovakia against communist one-party rule in 1989, famed hockey goalie Dominik Hasek and teammates squeezed into a Skoda to join pro-independence protests in Prague.
When Washington Capitals left-winger Alex Ovechkin, a Russian, took a far more nuanced stance about his country’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Hasek squared up on Twitter.
He labeled the star puck-handler an “alibist” for refusing to denounce President Vladimir Putin’s claims of a defensive attack, and called for the National Hockey League to expand a growing umbrella of sports sanctions by suspending Russian player contracts.
Mr. Ovechkin, in particular, is in a vise, not least of which is that he plays at a rink just
