The Pittsburgh penguins sparked online reactions Wednesday after a social media staff photographed face masks on fans in a photo taken during the team’s first game in front of spectators in March last year.
“We just had to say that again … thank you for your continued support, Penguins fans.” posted the team’s official Twitter account along with an image showing all the fans wearing proper faces. “We can’t wait to see you tomorrow night.”
The ice hockey team returned to the PPG Paints Arena a night earlier to face the Philadelphia Flyers on their way to a 5-2 victory. Only 2,800 people were allowed to follow the action and a zero tolerance mask policy was implemented. It was Penguin’s first home game in front of fans on March 2, 2020, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
But some eagle-eyed Twitter users have noticed that something is wrong. In the original Getty photo, an unmasked female fan is seen in the upper right corner, while two others did not have their faces properly covered.
One critic quickly called the seemingly doctoral image a “terrible BS” on the team.
“Whether you apply the rules or not, but you don’t lie to us either,” the tweet read. “Piss jobs poor pens.”
Another critic acknowledged that “growing pain” with the mask policy was expected, saying it was the first home game with spectators – but still said the team should “do better”.
Meanwhile, another person joked that the team’s account appears to be managed by a “penguin”.
“Photoshop is hard, without fingers,” the response said.
In a statement to The Post, the team acknowledged that social media staff sent the “modified” photo and has since been reprimanded.
“We are excited to bring our fans back to PPG Paints Arena and, following the advice of medical professionals, we are taking every precaution to enforce the use of masks to keep our fans safe,” the statement said. “We have adopted a zero tolerance policy, and our arena staff has itinerant teams to apply during home games.”
The team said the “probably well-meaning” staff, however, should not have manipulated the wide picture of the “few fans” who did not follow the rules.
“Our social team should never send modified photos to our fan base,” the statement continued. “This is a violation of our socialization and safety policy, and this staff has been disciplined.”
Fans were left back in the arena after Gov. Tom Wolf increased indoor capacity to 15 percent, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
“We are grateful for the loyalty our fans have shown at this difficult time,” said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan.
“We feel that we have some of the most loyal fans in sports. These guys have supported our players so much over the years. I know the players appreciate that. ”