San Jose Sharks Apologize for Pro-ICE Message That Left Hockey Fans ‘Appalled’ on Hispanic Heritage Night

The San Jose Sharks have apologized after a message in seeming support of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was displayed during the team’s Hispanic heritage night.

The message shown on the scoreboard at the Sharks’ SAP Center in San Jose as they hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, Oct. 18, left fans “appalled,” CNN reported.

“SJ SHARKS FANS LOVE ICE!! GET’EM BOYZ!,” the sign read, according to local news outlet ABC7.

Sharks fan Jessica Clark told CNN the Sharks are her “favorite team” but the pro-ICE message “was something that should’ve been caught” by the team.

After the game, the Sharks issued a statement apologizing for the insensitive message.

“During the first intermission of tonight’s game, an offensively worded message which had been externally submitted was inadvertently displayed on the in-arena scoreboard,” the team began.

“Sharks Sports & Entertainment deeply regrets that this message, which does not meet our organization’s values, was not detected during our standard review process. The Sharks organization sincerely apologizes for this oversight, and we are actively working to determine the origin of the message.”

Fans noted that the message was shown on a night where the Sharks promised fans they’d be celebrating “the team’s commitment to the Bay Area’s vibrant Hispanic community,” per their website.

PEOPLE contacted the San Jose Sharks for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

The incident at the Sharks game comes just one week after a Milwaukee Brewers fan lost her job after threatening to call ICE on a Dodgers fan during the teams’ playoff series. The Brewers fan, identified as Shannon Kobylarczyk, was seen telling the man in front of her, “you know what, call ICE,” after the Hispanic Dodgers fan was taunting Milwaukee fans as Los Angeles dominated the game.

Kobylarczyk’s former employer, the Manpower Group, confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that she is “no longer with the organization” one day after the incident went viral. Kobylarczyk also resigned from her role on Make-A-Wish Wisconsin’s board of directors, according to the Journal Sentinel.