ESPN's Max Kellerman says no one cares about hockey, not a major sport

Just when you thought ESPN's apparent hatred of hockey couldn't get any worse, along comes boxing analyst Max Kellerman to throw gasoline on the fire. While appearing on ESPN during his First Take segment with Stephen A. Smith, Kellerman launched into a tirade against the NHL while discussing the return of sports this summer.

"Listen, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but in the United States of America no one really cares about hockey," said Kellerman. "The old joke is every town has 20,000 hockey fans and they all have season tickets. So the arenas are always sold out but the TV ratings don't do anything. So, it's not one of the four major teams sports."

ESPN has long been criticized for seemingly forgetting about hockey, refusing to air games or even really cover the sport in any in-depth fashion. And, while hockey is likely more popular in Canada and parts of Europe, it still has a large, passionate following in the United States. To completely dismiss it like Kellerman did seems foolish at best.

Kellerman is taking a beating from hockey fans on social media, with many saying they have no idea who he even is and that his take on the sport is ill-informed.

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