The San Jose Sharks have been criticized for continuing to use “Rock and Roll, Part 2” by Gary Glitter after Glitter was sentenced to a 16-year prison term in the UK for sex crimes against children back in the 1970s. The Sharks used “Rock and Roll, Part 2” throughout the remainder of 2014-15 after Glitter was sentenced in February, but now the team is looking to make a change.
The Sharks sent out an email to their season ticket holders notifying them that the team would be changing their goal song. Along with notifying their season ticket holders of the change, the team is also calling on them to help select a new song.
Here’s an excerpt of the email, via the Santa Cruz Sentinel, including details on why the team is making the change:
The discussion as to whether the Sharks should play “Rock and Roll, Part 2” as our goal song has come up before. While we understand this song may have been an integral part of some fans game-night experience, we feel emphatically that we cannot ignore the connection between the song and the recent, very serious criminal conviction of the song s artist. Thus, we believe it is time to alter this aspect of our in-game entertainment and begin a new tradition.
Aside from polling their fans, the Sharks are also gathering input from their players.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel mentions that a few songs are already being considered: “Holiday” by Green Day, “Electric Worry” by Clutch, “Burn it to the Ground” by Nickelback, “Break Away” by CFO$ and “Uprising” by Muse.
Any new song will be scrutinized – especially if it ends up being Nickelback – but sometimes a change is necessary.
