If anyone was deserving of such an amazing gift it was Prosper. Prosper was the victim of racial slurs while playing a game for the Cape Breton West Island minor hockey team. The racist taunts were directed towards him by both players and fans during a game in Cheticamp in 2019.
A lot of positives came from this awful incident though. The racist taunts made national headlines, but born from this incident was an amazing initiative. The Red Tape Movement, an anti-racism campaign was created soon after.
It didn't take long for the movement to gain momentum. Hockey players across the province and country quickly wrapped their sticks in red tape to show their support for Prosper. The tape also signified their commitment to end racism both on and off the ice.
It was around this time that Philip Prosper, Logan's father met an old friend of Marchand's at a hockey game for the Red Tape Movement.
"He said, �I'm going to see if Brad can send him a jersey," but a few months went by and he didn't hear anything. But the next time Philip ran into the friend he'd mentioned that Marchand had been asking about the Red Tape Movement and was going to be sending Logan a signed jersey.
Logan's father shared what they have planned for the jersey:
"We're going to get a shadowbox to display the jersey and I want to get a small shadowbox for the wrapper that has my name and his name on it, so it was pretty special."
This jersey has that much more meaning for Logan, who is no longer capable of playing competitive hockey, due to suffering his 4th concussion last year. But it was the personal message on the jersey that made this extra special. Especially because Marchand took the time to write it in Mi'kmaw.
"My jaw dropped when I read it. I couldn't believe it, that he took the time to translate it into Mi'kmaw, that's what I couldn't believe," Logan said.
The message read, �Kelu'kw tela'teken wjit Red Tape' meaning �Good work on the Red Tape,' is accompanied by Marchand's signature.
"He's my favourite player. We've been Bruins fans forever so that's what makes it so special."
As for the Red Tape Movement, according to Logan the movement still has steam and both he and his father have plans to continue to grow the project once pandemic restrictions loosen.
«I'm always going to keep pushing that � I'm not going to stop,» Logan said.
This is just another amazing example of an amazing member of the hockey community and an amazing player like Brad Marchand doing his part to support the growth of the game in the right direction.
Source: SaltWire via MarkerZone