The St. Louis Blues have issued a heartfelt apology after antisemitic messages were displayed by fans during a game last week.
Signs that read ‘Israel Kills’ and ‘Free America from Israel’ were held by fans in the stands on Thursday when the Blues played the Vegas Golden Knights.
In a statement on Monday, Blues owner Tom Stillman called the signs ‘vile messages of hate’ that were ‘unfortunate and unforgivable.’
His full statement read: ‘The St. Louis Blues organization – and I personally – condemn antisemitic rhetoric in all forms.
‘The vile messages of hate briefly displayed at our game last Thursday were unfortunate and unforgivable, and not remotely representative of our fans or our hometown.
‘Our arena staff and local law enforcement responded immediately to confiscate the prohibited banners and eject the offending individuals.
The St. Louis Blues have issued an apology after antisemitic messages were displayed by fans
Signs that read ‘Israel Kills’ and ‘Free America from Israel’ were held by fans in the stands
St Louis Blues chairman Tom Stillman shared this statement in response to the signs
‘Antisemitism has no place in our community, and we will never allow it in our building.’
The 2026 Freedom Convoy, which said it was responsible for the protest, disagreed with Stillman’s characterization of the signs.
In their own statement, the group said: ‘We spent multiple hours talking with the good people of St. Louis outside and inside the arena.
‘And an overwhelming majority agreed: they don’t want their tax dollars funding Israel’s genocidal military while they struggle to afford food, housing, healthcare, their children’s education and the basic necessities of life.
‘Blues fans have every right to ask why their tax dollars help fund Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people — while their own communities struggle. In a city at the heart of America’s defense industry, those questions hit close to home. They deserve answers, not smears.
‘Criticizing Israel is in no way, shape or form antisemitic. Tom treating the two as interchangeable actually holds Jewish people collectively responsible for a state’s actions, and that’s incredibly antisemitic.
‘Tom Stillman should know better than to silence legitimate criticism by branding it hate.’
The incident quickly caught attention on social media, with users condemning the groups actions at the Enterprise Center.
One user on X wrote: ‘Absolutely unacceptable. A horrific antisemitic sign reading ‘Israel kills’ was seen in the stands at a St. Louis Blues hockey game in St. Louis, Missouri. Jewish fans should be able to enjoy a hockey game without fear.’
