PRAGUE (AP) — Czech leaders have condemned apparent threats made by former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev against NHL great Dominik Hasek for his critical stance of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Medvedev, who is now deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said that the Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender suffered from “Russophobia" and suggested that he should see a psychiatrist.
In remarks made through his assistant Oleg Osipov and published by the TASS news agency on Tuesday, Medvedev also urged Hasek to be careful while crossing roads and when having a beer in unfamiliar places.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on X that such threats are “absolutely unacceptable.” He added that they were not surprising but cannot be ignored because Medvedev is not a private person.
“Medvedev is once again behaving as a primitive,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said on Wednesday. “This time attacking NHL legend Dominik Hasek simply for speaking the truth — the truth about Russia’s war and the misuse of sports in promoting it. Such intimidation may be normal in Putin’s Russia, not in the civilized world!”
Hasek has been a vocal critic of the war and the participation of Russian athletes at international competitions and leagues, saying that signals acceptance of the war against Ukraine and enables human suffering.
“Everybody knows where those athletes are from,” Hasek told the AP in an interview in 2023. ”They would represent the aggressive, imperialistic war and the crimes and killings linked to it.”
He has also criticized the NHL for allowing Russian players including Alex Ovechkin to compete. Ovechkin recently broke Wayne Gretzky's record for most career goals scored in the NHL.
Following Ovechkin's record-breaking 895th goal on April 6, Medvedev said on the social media site Telegram that he was expecting Hasek to commit suicide.
Hasek sent a note to the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation to inform them that “former Russian President Medvedev threatened to kill me.”
“It is not possible to threaten the citizens of our state in this way simply because they express their views,” Fiala said after the regular government meeting Wednesday.
He added that some government members are in touch with Hasek and will take further steps if needed. He gave no details.
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The Associated Press
