EA removes Russia from NHL 22 but stops short of taking out players too

In an effort to show solidarity towards the unprovoked invasion in Ukraine, EA has announced that it will remove Russia from their FIFA and NHL titles, two of the publisher’s flagship series.

EA is taking a stand once again, making an official statement that plans are in motion to remove Russia from two of their major sports releases – FIFA and NFL. This comes as a message of support for the people of Ukraine, after Russia launched an invasion of their country.

A statement confirmed that Russian clubs would be removed from FIFA products, in a “call for peace and an end to the invasion of Ukraine.” NHL 22 followed suit shortly after, adding that club or national teams tied to Russia or Belarus would be axed in the “coming weeks.”

Over the weekend, former NHL goalie Dominik Hasek called on the NHL to immediately put a halt to all their contracts with “Russian players.”

“The NHL must immediately suspend contracts for all Russian players! Every athlete represents not only himself and his club, but also his country and its values and actions. That is a fact. If the NHL does not do so, it has indirect co-responsibility for the dead in Ukraine.”

The NHL is not going that far - why punished individuals for their President Stupid’s decisions?! It would be wrong to punish players for simply being born in the wrong country, especially considering the fact that some of those very same players have arguably been the most vocal critics of Vladimir Putin even prior to the actions he has taken in the Ukraine this week.
EA appears to agree with this, refusing to remove Russia players from its platform.

Let’s see how this impacts the game.