Sign up for the battlefordsNOW newsletter

Online petition against BMHA ruling gaining momentum

Apr 4, 2018 | 2:11 PM

When Konnor Snyder puts on his hockey jersey this season, the 15-year-old hopes he won’t just be playing for the crest on the front of the jersey but for a crest on the left arm as well.

The crests were designed by Snyder and his mother Karla to celebrate the life of Ash Lascelle, who died earlier this year. The memorial crests are at the centre of a controversy which garnered province-wide attention when the Battlefords Minor Hockey Association (BMHA) ruled the emblems will not be permitted on the Battlefords Barons’ jerseys for the upcoming season.

“It was shocking,” Snyder said. “I was very disappointed to hear that we wouldn’t be allowed to wear Ash’s patch.”

Snyder, who was friends with Lascelle for a number of years before the young man’s death, said the crests are meant to help the players remember Lascelle while on the ice. Snyder said the team planned on wearing the patches until the end of the 2021 season, which would have been Lascelle’s final year with the Barons.

“It originally started out as a sticker, but then Ash’s midget team got crests made to put on their jerseys,” Snyder said. “It symbolizes Ash and reminds me of him when I play.”

Karla Snyder said she was disappointed by the decision of BHMA and still cannot understand the rationale behind banning the crest.

“The board needs to realize that these kids are minor hockey and should have a voice,” she said. “If the players want to wear the crest they should be allowed; if they don’t, they don’t have to, but the decision should lie with them.”

Both Konnor and his mother said they are very appreciative of the outpouring of support from the community, including an online petition asking the BMHA to reverse their decision and allow the players to don the badges this season. To date, almost 2,000 signatures have been gathered.

“It’s awesome to see that support,” Konnor said. “Hopefully it will lead to minor hockey to reverse their decision.”

The Battlefords Minor Hockey Association did not respond to an interview request.

The online petition can be viewed here.

 

roger.white@jpbg.ca

On twitter: @RJWtheReporter