Fans Force Chicago Blackhawks To Drop Sexist 'Stripper' Song Tradition

Fans Force NHL Team To Drop Sexist 'Stripper' Song Tradition
CHICAGO, IL - MAY 4: Two members of the Chicago Blackhawks Ice Crew wave to the camera during Game Two of the Second Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on May 04, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - MAY 4: Two members of the Chicago Blackhawks Ice Crew wave to the camera during Game Two of the Second Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on May 04, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks are tweaking a long-standing tradition after a number of fans rallied against it for being sexist.

The Blackhawks will be ditching their practice of organist Frank Pellico playing "The Stripper" as women participate in the "Shoot the Puck" contest during the second intermission of every game, ESPN reported Wednesday.

Critics of the tradition launched an online petition and a hashtag campaign (#BanTheStripper) earlier this month urging the team to ditch the song and include women of all body types in the promotion by making the selection process "truly random."

The petition also called for the team to change the uniforms for female members of their "Ice Crew" to match the less revealing outfits worn by male members, and for the team's annual convention to include at least one female panel moderator in 2015.

"It’s time to stop taking women for granted," stated the petition, which was signed almost 900 times. "We’re here, we want to root for the Hawks, we’re going to spend money to do it, and we want to be treated fairly along the way."

In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Blackhawks president John McDonough did not specifically say whether the team would take the petitioners up on their other two requests, but did say they "hear the feedback. We respect it. We’re distilling it right now."

And as the RedEye Chicago's Kate Conway pointed out last month, it's not just men that the Blackhawks need to think about when trying to please their fan base -- 38 percent of the team's local fans are women.

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