Matthew Tkachuk upset fans when he announced that he and his wife Ellie are expecting a child. Some fans are calling his announcement “misogynistic.”
Matthew Tkachuk has had busy weeks since winning Olympic gold with Team USA in Milan on February 22. After celebrating the gold medal with his teammates, visiting the White House and meeting President Donald Trump, he returned to the Florida Panthers.
READ MORE: Auston Matthews texted Matthew Tkachuk every night at the Olympics
Matthew Tkachuk baby announcement
The Panthers currently sit nine points out of a playoff spot, and it looks like the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions could miss the playoffs, despite winning their three latest games.
However, it’s not his performances on the ice that have made Matthew Tkachuk headlines recently. Instead, he is under fire from hockey fans after comments he made while appearing on the Hang Out with Sean Hannity podcast. During the interview, Tkachuk announced that he and his wife Ellie are expecting their first child.
”Definitely want to have a boy”
Tkachuk then explained that they haven’t found out the sex of the baby and added that he hopes to have a son one day.
“Yes, I mean, at some point, I would definitely want to have a boy. I’ve been explaining to my wife, because she only has a sister and no brothers, what youth hockey is like. And I think I’m more excited for youth hockey one day than my current hockey right now. Like, honest to God, I can’t wait for the road trips. I can’t wait for the family to come. I can’t wait for the parents to be in the hotel lobby bar at night talking about the day — just the little things,” he said on the podcast.
Fans are outraged
Fans heavily criticized the comments online, arguing that everything he described could also apply to having a daughter who plays hockey.
“Women’s hockey just hit 100k players and one of the faces of the NHL is saying this. You can say you hung out with the women’s team, but that means literally nothing when you’re essentially saying you won’t be happy until you’ve had a boy. Just mask-off misogyny,” one fan wrote on X.
“Why is he talking like he can’t just sign up his daughter for youth hockey, like so many girls play on boys’ teams anyway?” another fan wrote.
“Does he know that girls can play hockey?” a third asked.
You can watch the interview below.
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