Dylan Strome's Wife Blasts Trolls, NHL After 'Girl Dad' Post Sparks Attacks On Her Family
Taylor Strome says she received "vile and disgusting" messages after the NHL shared a photo of her daughter at Disney.
Taylor Strome — the wife of Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome — has some choice words for the people who harassed her family on social media following an ill-timed post by the National Hockey League.
On Monday, the NHL's X account shared a photo of Dylan with his 2-year-old daughter. In the photo, they're sitting on the floor at Disney's Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and the child is wearing a pink princess dress. Dylan's hat, topped with a sparkly tiara, says, "Girl Dad."
The account captioned the post: "Dylan Strome is the ultimate girl dad ❤️"
It's an objectively sweet photo, but fans were quick to call out the timing.
The post came just one day after the Team USA men's hockey team came under serious fire because of a phone call with President Donald Trump following the gold medal game at the Winter Olympics. On the call, Trump invited the team to his upcoming State of the Union address, adding that he'd have to include the women's team, too, or else he "probably would be impeached."
Critics accused Trump of mocking the gold-medal-winning women's team and underplaying their accomplishments. Many shamed the men for laughing along instead of defending the women. Like every "controversy" on social media, it was wildly overblown in both directions.
So it's easy to see why the NHL's "girl dad" post looked like a PR move on the league's part. Especially since they also posted this video on the same day:
Taylor Stromme Calls Out NHL, Social Media Trolls
Dylan Stromme and Matthew Schaefer are both Canadian and did not play in the Olympics.
But that didn't stop trolls from going after them and their families. Following the NHL's post, Taylor Stromme said she received "vile and disgusting" messages about her husband and daughter.
"We were placed into a narrative that we have absolutely nothing to do with, and we certainly did not choose to have our family used in it," Taylor wrote on her Instagram story. "You can debate adults all you want, but dragging my husband and especially my toddler into something that has nothing to do with us is beyond unacceptable."
The NHL eventually deleted the post. But the damage had already been done.
"The comments and messages about my TWO YEAR OLD DAUGHTER are some of the most vile and disgusting things I have ever read in my life," Taylor added. "This isn't about politics. She is a child. Full Stop. Do better."
No matter what you thought about the Trump phone call, there's absolutely no excuse for harassing and berating a player's wife and kids — especially a player who had no involvement in the situation whatsoever.
And shame on the NHL for using players' family photos in an attempt to save face.