The IOC really needs to lighten up
I noticed on a closeup of Ryan Miller that he has "Matt Man" on the back of his helmet, and Googling it led to these articles:
Olympic Officials Make Ryan Miller, Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick Cover Messages on Masks
The back of Ryan Miller's mask had the words "Miller Time" painted on it, which the International Olympic Committee deemed to be too close to advertising, according to The Associated Press. That's not all though, as the IOC wants Miller to cover up the words "Matt Man" underneath, which is a tribute to his cousin who passed away in 2007 at the age of 18. That's something that Miller is not willing to cover.
[...]
Miller is not alone, however, as fellow American goaltenders Jonathan Quick and Tim Thomas have been asked to cover parts of their masks. Quick had the message "Support Our Troops" on his mask, which was deemed as political propaganda by the IOC.
Thomas was asked to cover a part of his helmet, according to a Reuters report. Inspection of Thomas' mask shows only the initials of his children -- "KIT, KOT, KAT" -- painted on it.
The goaltender for the Canadian women's team, Shannon Szabados, was ordered earlier in the Olympics to remove her own name from her mask, but she was allowed to keep "FLM" on it, according to The Vancouver Sun. The letters stood for "Fight Like Matt," a tribute to a 22-year-old named Matt Cook who is battling cancer.
Ice hockey-U.S. netminders told to ditch helmet slogans
Several netminders from different teams practising at Canada Hockey Place on Monday trained wearing masks with names of family members and friends painted on them which is also against IOC rules that state athletes cannot personalise equipment.
I can see the no-advertising and political slogans (arguable whether "Support Our Troops" qualifies) but WTF is this about not personalizing equipment? Has the IOC watched hockey before? Basically all goalies have customized masks. So that's ok, but as soon as you add a name or initials, that's not? What a load.
Olympic Officials Make Ryan Miller, Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick Cover Messages on Masks
The back of Ryan Miller's mask had the words "Miller Time" painted on it, which the International Olympic Committee deemed to be too close to advertising, according to The Associated Press. That's not all though, as the IOC wants Miller to cover up the words "Matt Man" underneath, which is a tribute to his cousin who passed away in 2007 at the age of 18. That's something that Miller is not willing to cover.
[...]
Miller is not alone, however, as fellow American goaltenders Jonathan Quick and Tim Thomas have been asked to cover parts of their masks. Quick had the message "Support Our Troops" on his mask, which was deemed as political propaganda by the IOC.
Thomas was asked to cover a part of his helmet, according to a Reuters report. Inspection of Thomas' mask shows only the initials of his children -- "KIT, KOT, KAT" -- painted on it.
The goaltender for the Canadian women's team, Shannon Szabados, was ordered earlier in the Olympics to remove her own name from her mask, but she was allowed to keep "FLM" on it, according to The Vancouver Sun. The letters stood for "Fight Like Matt," a tribute to a 22-year-old named Matt Cook who is battling cancer.
Ice hockey-U.S. netminders told to ditch helmet slogans
Several netminders from different teams practising at Canada Hockey Place on Monday trained wearing masks with names of family members and friends painted on them which is also against IOC rules that state athletes cannot personalise equipment.
I can see the no-advertising and political slogans (arguable whether "Support Our Troops" qualifies) but WTF is this about not personalizing equipment? Has the IOC watched hockey before? Basically all goalies have customized masks. So that's ok, but as soon as you add a name or initials, that's not? What a load.