Toronto Raptors apologize for misguided Women’s History Month video

Article content

In basketball parlance this was the equivalent of airballing a free throw.

The Toronto Raptors organization has some egg on its face today after a misguided and rushed attempt to highlight Women’s History Month earlier this week.

Article content

The result was a video that sparked such a reaction from the public that it was quickly taken down.

Article content

In the video a handful of Raptors attempt to explain why they believe women rule the world. The responses extend from “All women are great because they are all queens,” which got a pass with the social media critics to “Girls run the world because they birth everybody” and maybe more cringeworthy “because they are the only ones that can procreate.”

Article content

For an organization that prides itself on equality, inclusion and diversity with their actions in the community and their own hiring practices, this one left a real mark.

“We’re an organization that prides itself on doing the right thing when it comes to inclusion and representation, and we made a mistake (Tuesday),” a statement from the team reads. “Our sincerest apologies to our players, our staff and our fans – we’ll work to do better today and every day after.”

The Raptors will host Women’s Empowerment Night on March 14 at Scotiabank Arena as part of their series of Culture Nights hoping to elevate women and not only celebrate them but empower them to participate in sport both on and off the court.