One point of contention for those criticizing Alex Ovechkin amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is that the Washington Capitals star’s Instagram profile picture has remained a photo of him posing with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But according to a report from The New York Times on Wednesday, Ovechkin has been advised against changing the photo “because it would not go over well in Russia,” David Shoalts wrote. Ovechkin has 1.6 million Instagram followers, making him one of the most popular Russian athletes on the platform.
He considered changing it to a “symbol for world peace,” per Shoalts’ report, after his press conference — in which he said “please, no more war.