Sports

Obama urges NHL to ‘do right by your fans’ and end lockout

Sarah Hofmann Contributor
Font Size:

President Barack Obama was asked about the ongoing hockey lockout during an interview with WCCO, a Minnesota CBS affiliate.

The interviewer asked if he would be willing to intervene in the hockey lockout, to which he responded, “The president of the United States shouldn’t have to get involved in a sports lockout.”

He went on to say, “My message to owners and to players is, you guys make a lot of money and you make a lot of money on the backs of fans, so do right by your fans. You can figure out how to spread out a bunch of revenue that you’re bringing in, but do right by the people who support you.

“And I shouldn’t have to be involved in a dispute between really wealthy players and even wealthier owners. They should be able to settle this themselves. And remember who it is that’s putting all that money in their pockets.”

The NHL lockout has prevented the 2012-2013 season from starting and has led to the canceling of the Winter Classic. The NHL and the NHL players association have been meeting with federal mediators, but no agreement has been reached yet.

Follow Sarah on twitter