The New Jersey Devils raised more than a few eyebrows Tuesday after unveiling a new set of warm-up jerseys ahead of their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
To commemorate the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, the team wore the bright red jerseys, which featured a stylized ‘fu’ character – a symbol of good fortune – as well as a black Devils logo, designed in the style of calligraphy. Chinese.
Watch these bad boys roar 🐅 pic.twitter.com/F6PTHVjLGq
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) February 1, 2022
And while there’s no doubt that the jerseys were created with good intentions, some people couldn’t help but notice that the logo resembles that of Nazi Germany.
— yes (@loudwhisper8691) February 2, 2022
Has anyone put this to the “DO THESE LOOK LIKE SWASTIKA” test???? https://t.co/rUqQ0XMcZF
— Mike Wickett 🇺🇲🎙🏈🏀👨👧👧👩👦🤘🚀 (@mikewickett) February 2, 2022
— alasdair™️ (@ae_allchin) February 2, 2022
https://twitter.com/PeteBlackburn/status/1488880736648282112
The jerseys were designed by local New Jersey artist Caren King Choi, who shared some of his thought process behind the designs and clearly went to great lengths to ensure they were a complete celebration of Chinese culture.
Choi said she drew inspiration for the jersey from her “experience growing up in America as a person of color.”
Learn more about Caren, an incredible artist who designed our Lunar New Year warm-up shirts for tonight. pic.twitter.com/gKkJOYmp3s
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) February 1, 2022
“It took me a long time to feel like I had permission to be myself and not some Asian-American version I’ve seen in books and movies,” she said. stated in an article on the The Devil’s Twitter Account.
However, many people also applauded Choi for his design, and some asked the team to make them available for purchase.
They are drugs. The Brodeur sweater, not so much but they are fire. Don’t listen to the geniuses who looked at a little picture and felt some kind of path. When you take a second and look, it’s nothing like what they say. I immediately recognized the Lunar New Year by the colors.
— J (@thesirjason) February 2, 2022
Is there any chance we can get merchandise with this design?
— IT (@itiskl13) February 1, 2022
And, to be fair, the jerseys look a lot less ominous when they’re not hanging all in a row, looking like the Brandenburg Gate during World War II.
Watch these bad boys go pic.twitter.com/qiqR1DZhjV
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) February 1, 2022
So far, the team hasn’t reacted to any of the backlash from the shirts.
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