Dusty Imoo, a goaltending coach recently hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate, is out of a job only two days after getting signed.
The dismissal comes after fans raised concerns over Imoo’s social media activity—his Twitter account, which has now been set to private, allegeldy liked several tweets containing transphobic, anti-Black, pro-Trump, and anti-vaxxer content.
The 51-year-old former Los Angeles Kings goaltending coach had also retweeted comments that showed support to the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.
“Dusty Imoo will not be joining the Toronto Marlies,” Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said in a statement published on Tuesday evening after the backlash.
“We made a mistake by not thoroughly following our organizational protocols when considering this candidate for the position of goaltender coach for the Toronto Marlies.”
Shanahan didn’t mention Imoo’s beliefs or social media activity, but one can only assume the decision stemmed from the public backlash over his wide array of concerning likes and retweets.
Fans were intially excited on Sunday to learn Imoo would be joining the Toronto Marlies, the Leafs’ farm team, based on his success with L.A., where he helped revive current Leaf goalie Jack Campbell’s career. But that elation quickly turned to digust once screenshots of the B.C. native’s social media activity began to circulate.
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“It’s important to remember that Dusty Imoo did this to himself. If he didn’t have a Twitter account, he would be employed by the Marlies right now,” tweeted sports journalist Mike Stephens.
“But he had to go around liking heinous shit and publicly outing himself as a bigot. This isn’t ‘cancel culture’. This is consequences.”
The fact that the Leafs reneged on the Imoo hire shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the organization has been one of the most outspoken NHL teams on social justice causes. So, you can see how having him on staff might’ve made things a little awkward.
