Ahead of the 2022-23 season, the NHL introduced jersey sponsorship opportunities and in September of that year, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced the Dairy Farmers of Ontario would be the team's new jersey sponsor, with the team displaying the word "Milk" on the front of their jerseys.
On Wednesday, for a reason no one knows, animal activist organization PETA sent a letter to the Daily Hive's Adam Laskaris asking the Leafs to "send their sponsorship with dairy to the penalty box" citing dairy farms being a "significant contributor to the climate catastrophe" among other things.
PETA began the letter issuing their condolences for this year's devastating playoff loss, which is certainly not a way to get on the good side of a multi-billion dollar organization that has struggled for two decades in the post-season. The letter went on to explain how baby calves are taken from their mothers often the next day so that the milk can be collected for human consumption instead as well as how drinking milk is 'dangerous' and can lead to a number of health issues.
PETA described the sponsorship as ironic for an "ice-based sports team" to accept a sponsorship "from the ice cap-melting dairy industry." The letter is full of hockey analogies and comparisons, which makes it comical in a way.
MLSE and the Dairy Farmers of Ontario have yet to respond publicly to the letter, but you can read the full letter here if you're curious to see it in its entirety.
Source: Sportsnet
Maple Leafs add Dairy Farmers of Ontario logo to jerseys
POLL | ||
JUILLET 5 | 207 ANSWERS PETA organization asks Leafs to end dairy sponsorship with obnoxious letter How many hockey references did PETA make in their letter? | ||
1-3 | 60 | 29 % |
4-6 | 57 | 27.5 % |
7-9 | 32 | 15.5 % |
10+ | 58 | 28 % |
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