Gov. Kathy Hochul was met with loud jeers as she donned a New York Rangers jersey for the ceremonial puck drop before the team’s Tuesday night home game against the Anaheim Ducks.
The chorus of jeers rang down from the rafters as Hochul walked to center ice to kick off the game and she was introduced over the PA.
The state’s first female governor was honored as part of “Women’s Empowerment Night” at the Garden, announcers told fans over the loudspeaker, according to footage shared to social media.
Blowback also followed on Twitter, with some saying the reaction was due to the governor’s since-revoked statewide mask mandate, issued as the COVID-19 Omicron variant surged.
“Democrats stuffing stupidity down the throats of sports fan’s denied access. Remember who didn’t let you live life,” one person tweeted.
Others blamed the rotten reception on male chauvinism.
“Misogyny is alive and well in nyc,” one person wrote on Twitter.
The icy greeting was not indicative of the Democrat’s standing in the polls. Hochul held a commanding lead among declared primary candidates in her bid to hold onto the office in November.