KHL team ditches cheerleaders due to reaction of wives in the stands
While not so common in the NHL, cheerleaders are still a very familiar thing in Russia's KHL. Just about every team has girls in skimpy outfits that dance and cheer in between periods and at other times. However, Ak Bars, based in the city of Kazan, is ditching their dancing girls, and the reason is somewhat surprising.
According to a report by Sport24.ru, the team is dropping them because the cheerleaders "annoy other people's wives."
The team insists the move has nothing to do with recent comments by Russian MMA fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov, who called UFC "Ring Girls" the most unnecessary thing in the sport.
"In total, the Bars Angels support group consisted of 20 girls, there were different lineups. When we told them about the decision, of course, the girls were upset. But we will meet with them again and present them with valuable gifts," said the team in a news release.
Rigina Barieva was the head of Ak Bars cheerleaders before this decision was made. She had decided to leave the team and head to Moscow, but was asked to appoint a replacement before she left. She said she did that, but later received a call from the team stating the cheerleaders were getting the hook.
'We conferred and adopted a new concept in the club. It is focused on the fact that married couples go to hockey, so that men come with their wives and children," Barieva says she was told by Ak Bars.
"The arguments in the conversation were that supposedly other people's wives do not react very well to beautiful girls. Therefore, the club decided to abandon the services of the support group altogether."
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Taylor Hall | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Brayden Point | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Brock Nelson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Bryan Rust | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pavel Zacha | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Quinn Hughes | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Erik Karlsson | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Elias Lindholm | - | 3 | 3 | |
| David Pastrnak | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Tim Stutzle | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Adam Gaudette | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Dylan Holloway | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Brad Marchand | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Aleksander Barkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sam Bennett | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sean Couturier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex DeBrincat | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cutter Gauthier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 23 | 18 | 5 | - | 36 | |
Hurricanes | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 33 | |
Wild | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 32 | |
Devils | 25 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 32 | |
Capitals | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 31 | |
Golden Knights | 23 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 31 | |
Maple Leafs | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Flames | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 28 | |
Panthers | 23 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 27 | |
Kings | 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 27 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||