Marcus Foligno makes a strong statement on what's happening in Minneapolis

So far, everyone from the Minnesota Wild organization has been tight-lipped on the ongoing situation in Minneapolis concerning civilians, protestors and Immigrations/Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) officers.

The NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and the PWHL's Minnesota Frost have both released statements and have held brief ceremonies to honor the lives of of civilians Renée Good and Alex Pretti who were both killed by I.C.E. agents in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, the Wild have essentially done and said nothing.

Today though, that changed... kinda.

Today, Wild forward Marcus Foligno was asked, in a roundabout way, for his reaction on the ongoing clashes between I.C.E and between Minneapolis civilians and what he shared was a passionate answer without showing support or condemnation for either side of this conflict. Foligno was simply asked what it's been like living in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis & St. Paul, MN) for the past while when he opened up a bit.

Foligno's statement, courtesy of Wild insider Michael Russo:

It's been pretty devastating. Having all my girls born here, Minnesota's home. So to see what's going on in the Twin Cities, it's tough to see. And right now we're just thinking about everyone involved and just trying to give our support as a team and through this organization."

Foligno was then asked if the situation has been a distraction from hockey for his team and asked how close protests are to his home.
Foligno again, from Russo:

"I think anything that happens in your community - and we get to play a sport for a living, so sometimes it's not always real. But what is real is what's going on downtown and around Minnesota. So you just kind of step away from the game and understand what life's all about. And, again, you're thinking about everyone. Put yourself in their shoes, it's a scary situation. So, we're just trying to be supportive and try to get through it and just come to work and play this game. That's all we can really do right now.

"We're in the entertainment business. We're trying to bring people together through everything. Sports are looked at that way. When we step on the ice, that's something we're trying to do is have these people get away from what they're going through."

First off... it's admirable for Foligno to stick his neck out like this and comment on things either way. But, from his language it's not clear what side of the fence he's sitting on exactly. It sounds to me like he's condemning I.C.E. agents and their overstepping of constitutional rights, but if you read his words back you can easily flip things from a different angle where it sounds like he's condemning acts of protest. This, naturally, has led to some debate online.

Some Wild fans feel Foligno is a supporter of I.C.E., while others feel he's a supporter of the protestors.

If I may, I think I can draw a conclusion from Foligno's own social media account wherein he 'Liked' a post expressing heartbreak over Pretti's death by I.C.E. officers.

You can draw your own conclusions from this and I may be off-base with my assumption, but I choose to believe the best in people and I have to believe, until shown otherwise, that Foligno is a good and caring individual.

As for the rest of the team's leadership, including owner Craig Leipold and GM Bill Guerin, well... who knows how they feel about the situation? So far they've given no indication that anything is even happening in their city.