NFL put the kibosh on the Cowboys paying tribute to the officers slain over the s..."/> NFL put the kibosh on the Cowboys paying tribute to the officers slain over the s..."/>
Fansided

Dallas Stars Honor Fallen Law Enforcement

By Don Povia

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13 OCT 2016: Dallas Stars Right Wing Patrick Eaves (18) wears a sticker on his helmet honoring fallen Dallas Police Officers during the NHL game between the Anaheim Ducks and Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. (Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

While the NFL put the kibosh on the Cowboys paying tribute to the officers slain over the summer, the Dallas Stars honored the fallen in their season opener, wearing decals on their helmets and having the families of Dallas police Sgt. Michael Smith and DART officer Brent Thompson participate in a ceremonial puck drop with Stars Captain Jamie Benn of the Stars and Anaheim Ducks Captain Ryan Getzlaf.

Stars Executive Vice President Brad Alberts said:

"“We know a lot of officers in the Dallas Police Department. For us, this is very personal. We weren’t able to do anything really in the off-season, but we wanted to show our support for the police department, DART and these officers. We know these guys, they help us every day and we wanted to be there for them in any way we could…“The events of the summer have really effected our team and the community. Our captain Jamie Benn was fully behind this decision and got all the players on board as well. This community gives us so much, and we want to give back in any way we can.”"

Additionally, the team has donated $100,000 to the Dallas Fallen Officers Fund.

The NFL decision came in the midst of racially-charged angst due to seemingly unjustified killings of unarmed minorities by members of law enforcement around the country, though well before the Colin Kaepernick-led protests by players and fans around the league. While the NFL apparently didn’t want to involve itself in a culture war, the NHL and the Stars and Ducks deserve some credit for sticking their necks out, albeit their rosters and fanbases have a much more – let’s say homogenous – make up. While to most it seems a classy and non-controversial thing to do, no doubt it will anger others. Welcome to 2016.

The Stars beat the Ducks 4-2.