New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad is donating money from his restaurant in Sweden to the women’s national hockey program.
New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad, his older brother and a few friends have partnered together to open a restaurant in his home of Sweden.
The group plans on using some of their money to help out the Sweden women’s national hockey program.
Restaurang Brödernas stöd till Damhockeyn
– Senast igår gjorde vi en reklamfilm om Zibanejad-burgare. För varje såld hamburgare på alla våra enheter kommer vi skänka tio kronor till damhockeyn hela året. https://t.co/DQSsYGpj7e pic.twitter.com/3cmAiNA6NS— Ronnies Skrivsmedja / Ronnie Rönnkvist (@skrivsmedjan) August 17, 2019
Translated, the tweet reads:
“Restaurant The Brothers’ Support to the Dam Hockey – Last night we made a commercial about Zibanejad burgers. For each sold burger on all our units, we will donate ten kronor to the women’s hockey throughout the year.”
Ten kronor is the equivalent of $1 US dollar. The Sweden women’s national team is currently boycotting training camp and the upcoming Five Nations Tournament. They are unhappy with playing conditions and the current pay scale they are receiving.
If this sounds familiar, a similar situation occurred with the 2017 national women’s USA hockey team. In that instance, the pay difference between the men’s and women’s team was highlighted.
It led to the #BeBoldForChange campaign.
Forty-three players were invited to participate in training camp prior to the start of the tournament. Currently, all 43 players will not attend the tournament as they try to nationalize their protest.
The women’s team hopes to bring the problem to a broader level as did their USA counterpart.
Obviously, the amount of money Zibanejad is donating won’t help the players financially. It will help get the word out about the inequality between the two programs, something that may have more value than any amount of kroner.
