NORTH DELTA - A North Delta minor hockey coach has been fired for posting Nazi propaganda to his Facebook page.
"You can't be a Nazi and coach kids hockey," said one concerned parent.The North Delta Minor Hockey Association fired Christopher Maximilian Sandau, 33, from its rep hockey program on Saturday after receiving information about "disturbing" public social media posts."The posts contained extreme and objectionable material believed to be incompatible with an important purpose of our minor hockey association - to promote and encourage good citizenship," Anita Cairney, president of the NDMH, said in a prepared statement.Cairney said the association's board of directors voted to "relieve this coach of all association" with the NDMHA effective Nov. 1, and that alternate coaching arrangements have been put in place.Sandau's Facebook page is largely a shrine to Adolph Hitler and Nazism. Included is a swastika over which Sandau wrote "may god be with us and the truth prevail," another swastika with the message "If this flag offends you you need a history lesson," and a photoshopped image of an astronaut standing on the moon, doing a "sieg heil" salute to a Nazi flag.The Langley resident had been coaching players Grades 6 to 9. "It really was my livelihood. Hockey has been my life," he told the Now after being fired. "My view on the history basically got me canned. A lot of people have no idea about the other side of the story."Sandau said he realizes his views are controversial."I get it, it's a really touchy subject," he said. Still, he doesn't think it was fair that he was fired."I wasn't trying to impose this knowledge on anybody."tzytaruk@thenownewspaper.com