Washington Capitals captain and NHL superstar Alexander Ovechkin recently appeared in a political campaign advertisement for Russia. Ovechkin stood in the video alongside major Russian political figures to promote Russia’s upcoming parliamentary elections. One U.S. lawmaker was not happy about it.
On Tuesday, U.S. Representative Joe Wilson wrote to the National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman about the video many Americans saw in the media. Wilson, a Republican and former South Carolina state senator, felt Ovechkin’s presence was “incredibly alarming ” and that the advertisement reflected poorly on the league. The advertisement has sparked backlash given Russian President Vladimir Putin’s long-documented history of crimes against humanity and his ongoing war with Ukraine.
It is incredibly alarming that @NHL and @Capitals have allowed Alexander Ovechkin to appear in a campaign advertisement supporting the party of war criminal Putin. American hockey fans deserve better leadership from their star players! pic.twitter.com/gTjU3xXUjZ
— Joe Wilson (@RepJoeWilson) September 16, 2026
“I write with serious concern regarding the recent appearance by Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin and a political campaign advertisement for United Russia, the dictatorial political party of Russian war criminal Vladimir Putin, who actively works to oppress the people of Russia by outlawing freedom of speech and fair elections,” Wilson wrote.
“Mr. Ovechkin shamefully appeared in a campaign video alongside senior figures of Putin‘s regime, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Kremlin propaganda outlet RT. The advertisement comes ahead of Russia’s September parliamentary “elections”, and represents an alarming instance of one of the National Hockey League’s most prominent players lending his image and international celebrity to a political organization that has enabled Putin’s brutal rule and his ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Wilson also pointed to prior instances in which the former Stanley Cup champion appeared to show support for Putin over the years.
“This remains troubling given Mr. Ovechkin’s long-standing and well-documented support for Vladimir Putin. In 2017, Mr. Ovechkin founded ‘PutinTeam,’ an organization created to publicly rally support for Putin. Mr. Ovechkin’s Instagram account profile photo remains an image alongside Putin. While Mr. Ovechkin has every right to hold personal political views, actively participating in campaign material for Putin’s oppressive party while serving as the captain of an NHL franchise in our nation’s capital raises serious questions about the standards expected of players who represent the League and their communities.”
“I therefore respectfully request that the NHL review this matter and clarify what policies, if any, govern the participation of active players in political advertisements or propaganda on behalf of a dictatorial political party and foreign political regimes,” he concluded.
The NHL has yet to respond to Wilson’s letter; neither has anyone on Ovechkin’s behalf.
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