In her 15-minute opening press conference, Manon Rhéaume was asked about building a team that young girls in Michigan could look up to and one of the things she talked about was a team that young girls in Michigan could aspire to.
While the team building is far from over, there have been no Michigan players signed to this point. While I am sure that adding Michigan talent will come, after all, no one can argue with the talent that she has acquired to this point, many potential PWHL Detroit fans on the interwebs have been concerned with her fourth signing, Britta Curl-Salemme.
Comments such as:
“You’ve already killed the vibe by signing Britta Curl.”
“I’m honestly so disheartened after signing Curl. I was excited to have a team I could drive to games. Everything was going so well and now I don’t know if I can even root for the team let alone buy merch”
“I was excited until you signed Curl “
“Imagine burning your fanbase to the ground in a month. No need to imagine; you did it. On purpose!”
“I think that she’s (Curl-Salemme) the one person you could add to your team that instantly removes any good will from any other signing. It’d be like having a team of loud and proud dog lovers and then adding 2009 Michael Vick”
This is a small sample that indicates the level of disgust some fans have with the Curl-Salemme signing on Friday.
Only time will tell but in a league with a strong LGBTQ+ fan base, PWHL Detroit may have just alienated a significant portion of their support throughout the league with this signing.
Curl-Salemme, who has a history of inflammatory anti-LGBTQ+ on X (formerly Twitter) was signed by Detroit as one of their first four players. Additionally, Curl-Salemme, has been chastised for her ties to FIERCE Athlete, an organization that advocates for “God-given identity in sport” and actively campaigns against the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports .While the first three picks were very well accepted by the fan base, this fourth pick complete with the anti-LGBTQ and anti-transgender rhetoric seems to bring that crashing down goodwill crashing to the ground.
It isn’t just her stance on LGBTQ+ issues being called into question. She also has a reputation as one of the dirtier players in the PWHL with four suspensions and two fines as well as over forty minutes of penalty time in her two seasons. The suspensions and fines were primarily for hits to the head and high sticking.
Some Detroit fans may tolerate Curl-Salemme and welcome her on-ice play as was the case in Minnesota. But it probably won’t be the majority; the rest of the league will view the situation differently. The boos and jeers that she received as a member of the Frost will now be transferred, by default, to PWHL Detroit. While she has issued an apology for past transgressions, it seemed to be more of a mea culpa with no real meaning behind it.
I don’t think that it is even a requirement that she fully embraces the LGBTQ+ community. She is allowed her opinions but perhaps, as she matures, she will learn to keep her thoughts more to herself. After all, a good percentage of the league is LGBTQ+ friendly and to create a positive, harassment free workplace that hatred cannot be tolerated. As for the on-ice actions, they are only going to get your own teammates hurt
Finally, and probably least important, as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a media member that will be covering the PWHL Detroit team in person I have to take pause. In a way, Curl-Salemme contributes negatively to my working environment. I will do my job, photograph and interview her if necessary and be polite but in all honesty, I won’t be comfortable.
Do I think this is an unrecoverable situation? No. Do I think that PWHL Detroit general manager Manon Rhéaume has made a mistake (a three-year mistake by the way) that could hurt team chemistry and impact the team’s effectivity with one of its MAJOR fanbase segments? Without a doubt.
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