Adding further insult to injury for a franchise trying to keep itself teetering away from bankruptcy, Arizona state troopers interrupted a pivotal Game 7 of the Phoenix Coyotes series with the Detroit Red Wings at the end of the first period when the Coyotes and Red Wings were tied 0-0, apparently to detain Coyotes on a tip saying that the players may not be citizens of the United States, arguably based on the fact that the ice skates and jerseys they are wearing can be used by the state of Arizona to determine who their identities are.
The Coyotes, after years of cellar dwelling, unexpectedly rose to the top of the Western Conference standings with a season of hard work composed by a team of mostly cast-offs from other teams, that include many notable foreign players, such as Russian-born goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who was taken into custody. “If the authorities were half as good at keeping undocumented immigrants out in the first place as (Ilya) is at keeping pucks out of the net,” Bryzgalov’s attorney and agent Norman B. Finklestein stated, “we wouldn’t even had come to this issue in the first place where draconian laws had to be established."
In the dramatic scene at Glendale Arena, the state troopers who stormed the ice after play was halted initially had trouble, slipping around as they took players into custody. The Finnish-born Lauri Korpikoski, having his equipment taken away by officers, was heard muttering “Suuski Viittuun” as he was lead off the ice in plastic ties, along with fellow teammates Radim Vrbata and Petr Prucha of the Czech Republic, Ed Jovanovski of Canada, Wojtek Wolski of Poland, Russian rookie Viktor Tikhonov, and Mikkel Boedker of Denmark. General Manager Don Maloney, was also apprehended, suspected of not being American after he and coach Dave Tippett ordered those remaining on the ice to drop the gloves with the officers. Dozens of officers took the rest of the team, including American players, such as injured captain Shane Doan, into custody while the Red Wings’ security scurrily escorted their team to the buses waiting around from the other side of the arena as the state troopers. Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader, an American, was missing from the team bus as it pulled away, while eyewitnesses say they saw the troopers single him out for his foreign-sounding name.
Riots quickly broke out as the game was unofficially ended, as fans started breaking chairs and vending stands while arena security stood by helplessly as the fans took their rage out, throwing what they could at the officers on the ice. Many were injured as officers started shooting fans with 3-pronged Tazer shotguns. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who was reached by phone, said that this incident “was one of the worst violations of interstate commerce in the history of this country."
“Arizona’s despicable witch hunt of illegal immigrants has ensnared those who even have valid visas to work and play hockey in the United States, “ he continued. Other NHL officials could not be reached for comment as they were busy managing the crisis. American-born Jeremy Roenick, former Coyote and commentator for the game, said “this is a great tragedy for the sport of hockey, and for America."
“Effective next season, the Coyotes will be moving back to Winnipeg,” stated an irate Bettman.”It was a mistake to try to do business there anyhow, and we will be indefinitely boycotting the state of Arizona. The game is currently on hold until we can find a suitable, secure venue and have the players released.” The Western Conference playoffs remain up in the air until, sources say, an emergency meeting of the NHL board of executives convenes tonight.
This also complicates matters for basketball's Phoenix Suns, playing in a playoff game tonight against the Trail Blazers in Portland. Former NBA MVP and Canadian born point guard Steve Nash did not comment other than that he was “shocked” by the entire situation. While they do not play in Glendale with the Coyotes, foreign-born players have justification to be worried of the same situation playing out.
Maricopa County Sherriff Joe Arpaio stated that the police were “enforcing the law and acting within its bounds,” but did not provide any further comment.