The Los Angeles Kings hosted an Armenian Night last week, and it turned into a public relations disaster.
The Los Angeles area is home to the largest Armenian community outside Armenia, so the team paid homage to Armenians from the area.
Fans who attended a game Feb. 22 against the Utah Hockey Club received an Armenian scarf.
The scarves were made in Turkey.
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The neighboring countries are historic enemies stemming from the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey. Historians widely view the event as genocide, although Turkey rejects the notion.
After hearing criticism, the Kings issued an apology.
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“We, the LA Kings and our partners at Rank & Rally want to sincerely apologize to all our friends in the Armenian community and beyond for the oversight that may have inadvertently impacted your experience during what should’ve been a joyous celebration,” the Kings said in a statement released Saturday.
“We source, stock and sell merchandise from a select list of manufacturers that are officially licensed by the league, and we were unaware of the item’s production origin.”
The Kings are offering full refunds or exchanges in person or by mail to anyone who purchased the scarf at the TEAM LA store.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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