The Vancouver Canucks have fired their anthem singer after news reports surfaced that he planned to perform at an anti-mask rally.
Mark Donnelly, who handles anthem singing duties for the Canucks, was scheduled to sing the Canadian national anthem and another song, at an anti-mask rally in British Columbia, Canada. However, once the Vancouver Sun reported about Donnelly’s planned performance, the owner of the Canucks, Francesco Aquiini, took to Twitter and told the Sun to change their headline to “Former Canucks anthem singer.”
A Canucks spokesperson confirmed the firing in a quote to the CBC: “You are safe to say his days are over.”
“Residents in British Columbia are currently under stay-at-home orders and there is a province-wide mask mandate as a result of the coronavirus pandemic,” CBS Sports reported.
Donnelly, a practicing Catholic, also sang ‘O Canada’ at an anti-abortion rally on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2012, the Vancouver Sun reports.