Never hurts to double check what’s going up on the jumbotron.
This past Saturday, the NHL’s San Jose Sharks celebrated Hispanic Heritage Night at their SAP Center. Hockey teams often have themed nights that encourage fans to attend, and keeps programming fresh throughout the season. The Sharks decided to have their Hispanic Heritage Night early on in their schedule, and it appears they let something nefarious slide by on the jumbotron.
During the first intermission of the game, the NHL team in San Jose, California did a segment where they allowed messages from fans to be displayed on the big screens hanging over the ice. Usually that means fans saying “Happy Birthday” to people they are there with, or wishing their significant other a “Happy Anniversary” for all at the sporting event to see. You know, pretty simple yet still exciting stuff.
However, one fan at the San Jose Sharks game decided to sneak a pro-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) message into the jumbotron segment, and it worked. I’d imagine whoever looked over the submissions didn’t catch the “ICE” reference and probably just assumed it was in reference to the ice the Sharks play on. The second portion of the message could also be read as supportive of the hockey team.
Here’s what flashed up on the jumbotron:
“SJ SHARKS FANS LOVE ICE!! GET’EM BOYZ!”
— FPB (@FourPuttBogey) October 19, 2025
Yikes…
As I pointed out before, I can see how that would get through. But it immediately became obvious to those in attendance (as well as those who saw the screenshot of the big screen online) that the message was saying the fans “love Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” and the “GET’EM BOYZ” was likely supporting the ICE agents that have been working to enforce immigration laws.
The San Jose Sharks quickly realized their mistake, and they put out this statement apologizing for the offensive messaging that was displayed on the jumbotron:
“During the first intermission of tonight’s game, an offensively worded message which had been externally submitted was inadvertently displayed on the in-arena scoreboard. Sharks Sports and Entertainment deeply regrets that this message, which does not meet our organization’s values, was not detected during our standard review process. The Sharks organization sincerely apologizes for this oversight, and we are actively working to determine the origin of the message.”
That’s a pretty tough scene, especially on the San Jose Sharks’ Hispanic Heritage night.
In this day and age, I feel like organizations like the San Jose Sharks have to be on high alert for the “jokesters” and “trolls” out there. They’ll certainly be vetting the messaging that goes up on their jumbotron after this snafu. And at the end of the day… I can see why this one got by whoever was in charge of reading the submissions before they went up on the big screen for all to see.
Obviously, ice and hockey typically mix… but not that kind of ICE.
