The Seattle Kraken are the NHL’s newest expansion team, and from their inception, they’ve done things a little differently. Case in point: their social media approach. Back in the spring during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Kraken’s TikTok account was discovered by BookTok. If you’re now asking yourself, “what is BookTok?” – you’re not alone. BookTok is a community on TikTok which is comprised of creators and readers discussing all things books. BookTok embraced the Kraken, and the Kraken started posting videos that specifically targeted BookTok. The moment represented two niche fandoms coming together…and it seemed like the end of the story…until last week, when things took a bit of a turn. 

If this story sounds a bit absurd so far, stay with us: it actually touches on some of the biggest issues in sports, social media, literature…and objectification. So today, Greg Wyshynski explains the Seattle Kraken BookTok hockey romance controversy, with the help of hockey romance author Emily Rath: and they tell us what happens when the worlds of fiction, online fandom…and real-life athletes…collide.

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