The NHL’s San Jose Sharks have issued an apology to fans after a message appearing to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flashed on the scoreboard during Hispanic heritage night on Saturday.
‘SJ SHARKS FANS LOVE ICE !! GET ‘EM BOYZ !’ read the message.
Video surfaced on social media, revealing several boos from the crowd in response to the pro-ICE message.
The Sharks responded with an apology after the 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, explaining that the ‘offensively worded message’ was an external fan submission that should not have been displayed.
‘Sharks Sports & Entertainment deeply regrets that this message, which does not meet our organization’s values, was not detected during our standard review process,’ the statement continued. ‘The Sharks organization sincerely apologizes for this oversight, and we are actively working to determine the origin of the message.’
The fan message was posted on ‘Los Tiburones Night,’ which is the team’s ninth annual celebration of Hispanic heritage.
Video surfaced on social media, revealing several boos in response to the pro-ICE message
The Sharks responded with an apology after the 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins
One diehard Sharks fan said she and her friends were ‘appalled’ by the display.
‘They’re my favorite team — I even have tattoos — but this was something that should’ve been caught,’ Jessica Clark told CNN.
It also came amid growing tensions between ICE agents and Californians, who protested the agency and President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdowns across the state during Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ demonstrations.
More than 170 US citizens have been held by ICE agents, according to a recent report by ProPublica.
George Retes, an American combat veteran working security on a legal marijuana farm in California, said he was held for three days by ICE officials, whom he claims knew he was a citizen.
‘They didn’t care,’ Retes told ProPublica.
The Department of Homeland Security has since claimed Retest was arrested because he was ‘violent’ and ‘refused to comply with law enforcement.’
San Jose has been the sight of several ICE operations in 2025.
Outside LA in Riverside, an anti-ICE protestor is seen displaying a personalized sign
A Pew Research Center poll found 72 percent of Republicans had a favorable view of ICE, while 13 percent Democrats approved of the agency tasked with Trump’s immigration crackdown
Earlier this month, the San Jose City Council approved a plan for ICE to operate within its limits provided agents remove their masks and identify themselves.
‘San Jose has a responsibility to lead on this issue,’ District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz said at the time, as quoted by NBC’s Bay Area affiliate. ‘Our residents, regardless of their background, status or neighborhood, deserve to know that those who enforce the laws are held to the highest standard of transparency and accountability.’
Around 41 percent of San Jose residents are foreign born, according to District 8 Councilmember Domingo Candelas.
‘If you have your papers, your legal ability to be here, but you speak with an accent, you may be targeted,’ Candelas said at a city council meeting earlier in the month. ‘And so that’s what I walk in fear of when my parents leave the house.’
A recent Pew Research Center poll found 72 percent of Republicans had a favorable view of ICE, while 13 percent Democrats approved of the agency tasked with Trump’s immigration crackdown.
