Ice hockey fans have been divided by a swift U-turn on a hiring. Just three days after his new role for an American Hockey League team was announced, a coach has been axed over controversial tweets causing a mob to criticize him.
The Toronto Marlies announced Dusty Imoo's arrival on Sunday, only for fans to swiftly predict – and, in some cases, demand – his firing, advising his new employers to check his Twitter account.
The ex-LA Kings coach's social media history reveals a number of partisan retweets and favorited comments, as well as his own material in which he used rhetoric which could be construed as discriminatory.
Imoo also appeared to save tweets that displayed opposition to Covid-19 vaccination.
The 51-year-old was accused of transphobia for liking a tweet by heavily-followed actress Nicole Arbour that said: "So chicks with d*cks can compete in the Olympics as women, but smoke a bit of giggle weed and it's an uproar."
"I can keep repeating this until I’m blue in the face but actually, yes, Dusty Imoo’s social media likes should preclude him from certain positions," raged one critic.
"I know someone who was fired from a $35,000-a-year sales job for posting vaguely pro-Palestine stuff on a private Twitter account."
One account highlight that Imoo liked tweets calling Mike Pence a "traitor" in the aftermath of former US president Donald Trump's election defeat, as well as a number that reported the shocking events when crowds descended on the US Capitol in January.
One said that Trump was "about to show all the fraud", while another, from Conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren, read: "Luckily, patriots were made for this.
"If the left think they've won, they've silenced us, they've taken this country... they've got another thing coming.
"This was the wake-up call we needed and we will never allow this to happen again."
On Tuesday evening, NHL legend Brendan Shanahan, who is the president of the Marlies' parent club, the Toronto Maple Leafs, confirmed that Imoo would not be joining the club.
"We made a mistake by not thoroughly following our organizational protocols when considering this candidate for the position of goaltending coach for the Toronto Marlies," he admitted.
Showing their approval, one advocate for his dismissal responded: "I am going to say this and only this: the Toronto Marlies made a bad error in judgement with Dusty Imoo.
"They have rectified that error and apologized. Certain NHL clubs refuse to take similar action. That is all."
But while the move was applauded by those who had called for Imoo's head, not everybody was impressed.
"Unpopular opinion: Dusty Imoo can believe whatever the hell he wants to believe. It's a Marlies hire and someone that can do his job well," said one.
"I don't agree with everything he thinks but damn, he's entitled to his own damn opinion."
"Cancel culture wins yet again," read one reply to the official announcement.
"God… This is why I hate cancel culture," fumed another. "Why did you guys fire him?
"Yeah, cool. People can have their own political beliefs, but you don’t fire someone from an athletic job.
"It matters how good they are coaching, not [what] their political affiliation or beliefs [are]."
"Wow, crazy. Can’t have your own opinions anymore," remarked another.
Imoo has a podcast, 'Motley Thoughts', and describes himself as a "guitar and motorcycle junkie" on his Instagram account, where he enjoys sharing self-portraits from gym sessions.
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