In Washington, D.C., a group of Ukrainian activists from Ukrainian Cultural Front DC launched a campaign calling on the Washington Capitals hockey club to end its relationship with team captain Alex Ovechkin. The petition’s authors cite the athlete’s long-standing public ties to Vladimir Putin and his participation in political campaigns in Russia as the basis for their demand.
This is stated in a petitionpublished on Change.org.
The petition, titled “Urge Washington Capitals to terminate Ovechkin's contract due to Putin's ties,” was created on September 16, 2026. The text identifies Ukrainian Cultural Front DC activists Maryna Lvovska and Olga Onishchenko as its authors. The appeal is addressed to the leadership of the Washington Capitals, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and the National Hockey League.
At the time the Change.org page was saved, the campaign had 1,448 verified signatures and 1,137 shares. Just a few days after its launch, organizers reported that the petition had surpassed 1,000 supporters.
In the appeal, the activists argue that the issue is not Ovechkin’s athletic achievements, but his public political activity. Among their arguments, they cite thePutinTeammovement he created in 2017, his stance toward the Russian authorities after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and his participation in a Russian political campaign.
“Sport should never serve as a vehicle for normalizing state propaganda or foreign aggression,” the petition states. Its authors call on the Washington Capitals to “immediately sever ties with Alex Ovechkin.”
The organizers separately cite Ovechkin’s participation in campaign advertising for Russia’s United Russia party. Campaign materials claim that the athlete appeared in a video alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Margarita Simonyan. The authors also cite his response when asked about such participation: “I am Russian. I support my country.”
The initiators of the appeal also refer to the position of U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson, who sent a letter to the leadership of the NHL and the Washington Capitals regarding Ovechkin.
At the same time, the activists launched an informational website, GR8Russian, devoted to the political dimension of the Russian hockey player’s public image. The website contrasts Ovechkin’s athletic career with his political actions and provides examples of other athletes who publicly spoke out against authoritarian regimes or war.
One such example cited by the authors is Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, who displayed a sign reading “No War in Ukraine” after competing at the 2022 Olympics. The campaign also mentions Russian basketball player Nikita Zadorov, American track and field athlete Jesse Owens, and German athletes Albert Richter and Werner Seelenbinder.
In this way, the campaign organizers are seeking to move the discussion surrounding Ovechkin beyond hockey and toward the question of the responsibility prominent athletes bear for their public political actions.
Photo: championat.com
Author: Inna Mikhno
