Collectively, the hockey world cringed.
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Nothing to see here. Just a Good Canadian Boy posing as the most controversial figure in North America for a fun night out with his girlfriend, Lauren Kyle, whose Melania Trump costume turned out even better than McDavid’s Trump. What could go wrong?
Well, after Kyle shared the photo of her and McDavid to her Instagram account Monday afternoon, the reactions on social media were about as polarizing as the president himself. Some were amused, seeing it as an obvious gag carried out in the free-expression spirit of Halloween. Others, more critical.
A post shared by Lauren Kyle (@laurenkyle1) on Oct 30, 2017 at 2:40pm PDT
“It’s a Halloween costume, that’s all it was,” McDavid told reporters when asked Tuesday about the reaction to his costume. “It’s not meant to be anything or to mean anything. It’s a Halloween costume. That’s all I’ll say about it.”
Regardless of perception, the mere association with Trump and his likeness carries a risk of backlash in the politically-charged climate of 2017. (Just ask the Penguins.) The NHL has been grappling with this over the last month as Trump’s brash, offensive rhetoric increasingly infiltrate the sports world, while some of hockey’s highest-profile players have gone to uncomfortable lengths to remain neutral.
McDavid’s costume was light-hearted, to be sure, and hardly original. But not everyone sees it that way.
