Not everyone is cheering for the NHL’s latest Gen Z play. Last week, we told you the NHL is trying to build on Gen Z’s growing hockey fandom. As part of their new “Hot for Hockey” campaign, they’re releasing romance novel-inspired audio stories starring their players, with the first dropping this week. According to Sports Business Journal, the league has enlisted popular hockey romance authors to write and narrate the 60- to 90-second stories and plans to bring in BookTok creators to help promote them. But the campaign hasn’t won over everyone in the romance community. Some readers worry that turning real players into romance heroes could make them targets of sexual harassment, while others see the effort as “cheap pandering” that overlooks the bigger issues facing female and LGBTQ+ hockey fans. Critics argue the NHL is trying to capitalize on romance fandom without addressing the homophobia and toxic masculinity that can make hockey culture feel unwelcoming outside their traditional straight, white, male audience. (Wired)
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