If ESPN anchor John Anderson wasn't aware of Zach Whitecloud's background, he certainly knows now.
The on-air personality issued an apology on Tuesday for an insensitive comment made about the last name of the Golden Knights defenseman.
The incident occurred after Vegas' 5-1 win over Edmonton in its second-round series, where Whitecloud scored his first goal of the 2023 postseason.
ESPN anchor John Anderson with a statement last night on his comment about Zach Whitecloud: pic.twitter.com/joZyaURsDF
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) May 9, 2023
"This is totally on me and I sincerely apologize to Zach, the Golden Knights, their fans and everyone else for what I said," Anderson said in a statement. "It's my job to be prepared and know the backgrounds of the players and I blew it.
"I will be reaching out to the team to personally apologize and hope to have the opportunity to speak to Zach as well."
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What did John Anderson say about Zach Whitecloud?
During SportsCenter highlights of Game 3 between the Golden Knights and Oilers, Anderson made an attempt at a joke about Whitecloud's last name.
"What kind of name is Whitecloud? Great name if you’re a toilet paper."
During the Vegas-Edmonton highlight on SportsCenter, John Anderson jokes about Zach Whitecloud's name, saying it's a "great name if you're a toilet paper."
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 9, 2023
Whitecloud is the first Indigenous NHL player from the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. pic.twitter.com/gngA1yg8wk
Whitecloud is one of a handful of current NHL players of Indigenous descent. His family is from the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, a reservation located in the western part of Manitoba.
The Vegas defenseman spoke on Tuesday about the comments from Anderson, stating that he accepting Anderson's apology and understands that people make mistakes.
🎥 Zach Whitecloud speaks on his pride for his heritage. 🧡 pic.twitter.com/3j5pIQT120
— z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 9, 2023
"I'm proud of my culture, I'm proud of where I come from, where I was raised, who I was raised by," Whitecloud said. "I carry my grandfather's last name and nothing makes me more proud than to be able to do that ... In our culture, we are raised to be the first one to reach out and offer our help, so that's why I reached out to John this morning.
"I don't want to be standing here in front of all of you, but I hope we can use it an opportunity for everyone to learn."
The 26-year-old is the first NHL player to hail from the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. He has been open about his heritage for a number of years now, and what it means to be a role model for the indigenous youth.
"Definitely people back home love to see their people playing on the big stage, and watching them on TV, watching them succeed and doing what they love and showing that with dedication and hard work you can get to these places and live all your dreams," Whitecloud said in a 2020 interview with NHL.com.
"For me to do what I love and play in the NHL and kind of be a role model not only for people back home but for all over Canada, it's definitely special."
