The NHL has backtracked after Florida governor Ron DeSantis was among the critics of their job fair in Fort Lauderdale next month, labelling it 'discriminatory' after an advert excluded certain groups of people from attending.

The National Hockey League had scheduled an event titled 'Pathway to Hockey Summit' on February 2, in a bid to help 'diverse job seekers who are pursuing careers in hockey'.

In a now-deleted post on LinkedIn, it was revealed that the event was open to 'participants aged 18 or over, based in the US, who identify as female, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and/or a person with a disability.'

It added: 'Veterans are also welcome and encouraged to attend.'

There was a significant backlash to the advertisement, with Fox News reporting that DeSantis was among its more fierce critics.

In a statement, his press secretary Bryan Griffin said: 'Discrimination of any sort is not welcome in the state of Florida, and we do not abide by the woke notion that discrimination should be overlooked if applied in a politically popular manner or against a politically unpopular demographic. 

'We are fighting all discrimination in our schools and our workplaces, and we will fight it in publicly accessible places of meeting or activity.'

He added that the NHL should 'immediately remove and denounce the discriminatory prohibitions it has imposed on attendance to the 2023 "Pathway to Hockey" summit.'

In a statement to Fox News, the NHL said 'the original wording of the LinkedIn post associated with the event was not accurate.'

The league then added: '"The Pathway to Hockey Summit" is an informational and networking event designed to encourage all individuals to consider a career in our game – and, in particular, alert those who might not be familiar with hockey to the opportunities it offers.'