64-year-old former Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky, with Ukrainian roots, made a statement regarding his origin amid the scandal surrounding his support for Russian athlete Alexander Ovechkin.
He stated this in an interview with the Toronto Sun.
He commented on the public outcry by shaking the Russian's hand on April 6, when Ovechkin scored the 895th goal of his career, surpassing Gretzky's record by one goal and becoming the leader of the National Hockey League.
The Canadian responded by saying that his roots were only half Ukrainian. He asked to spread this fact.
"He's a great guy and a great player. What he did was good for hockey. Please let people know that my grandmother was Ukrainian and my grandfather was Russian," he said.
Former Canadian hockey player Gretzky, nicknamed the Magnificent, was born in Ontario to Phyllis Leon and Walter Gretzky, a Canadian of Ukrainian descent.
The family lived in lands inhabited by ethnic Ukrainians. His father, Terentiy, who later became Tony, was from the village of Ogdemir in the Brest region of Belarus, and his mother, Maria (Mary) Godenetska, was from the village of Panovichi in the Ternopil region.
At the beginning of the 20th century, his father emigrated with his family to Canada via the United States, and later married Maria.
According to Walter, his first language was Ukrainian. In 2018, he stated that he still understands his native language and even speaks it a little.
He never officially spoke about Ukraine when mentioning his parents' origins, because they had Polish or Russian documents, even though they were ethnic Ukrainians who cherished Ukrainian traditions.
Recall that earlier, former sports commentator Igor Miroshnychenko criticized Gretzky, who never condemned Russian aggression.
They also wrote that Ukrainian journalist Oleksandr Pashover reprimanded hockey player Wayne Gretzky, who never condemned Russian aggression.