Washington Capitals players use Pride Tape during warmups at Hockey is for Everyone night in Washington, D.C. (Screenshot/YouTube Washington Capitals Hockey)
In a move first reported by LGBTQ sports blog Outsports, the National Hockey League has banned the use of Pride Tape across all 32 teams in the league. This comes a week after ESPN reported the league clarified in a memo, sent out to all team franchises, regarding “special initiatives” teams could participate in including LGBTQ+ Pride Nights.
ESPN’s Ryan Clark reported that one section of the memo stated: “Players shall not be put in the position of having to demonstrate (or where they may be appearing to demonstrate) personal support for any Special Initiatives. A factor that may be considered in this regard includes, for example, whether a Player (or Players) is required to be in close proximity to any groups or individuals visibly or otherwise clearly associated with such Special Initiative(s).”‘
This past June, the NHL’s Board of Governors agreed that players will no longer wear special rainbow-colored, Pride-themed jerseys during warm-ups next season.
The specially-designed jerseys will continue to be manufactured and sold, and players will still have the option to autograph or even model them. The autographed Pride jerseys are typically auctioned off to raise money for LGBTQ+ charities in each team’s hometown.
But from now on, no pro hockey player will be wearing those rainbow jerseys during warm-ups.
The change was prompted by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s recommendation, which he signaled was coming in a March interview with CTV News: “This is one issue where players for a variety of reasons may not feel comfortable wearing the uniform as a form of endorsement,” said Bettman.
A grand total of seven NHL players, out of 1,123, decided to skip pregame warmups on Pride Nights when their teammates wore the special rainbow-themed jerseys before games, starting with Ivan Provorov, as the Los Angeles Blade reported in January.
At that time, the Russian defenseman played for the Philadelphia Flyers, and claimed a religious exemption based on his Russian Orthodox faith. Provorov’s decision was defended by coach John Tortorella.
He was followed by James Reimer, a goaltender for the San Jose Sharks, and Canadian brothers Eric and Marc Staal of the Florida Panthers, who also cited their religious beliefs for not participating. Canada is home to the vast majority of NHL players, followed by American, Swedish and Russian athletes.
Commissioner Bettman’s recommendation was criticized by many players – including two-time Stanley Cup Tampa Bay Lightning’s Steven Stamkos who told reporters at the time: ”It was 98 percent or 99 percent of other players that wore the jersey and enjoyed wearing it and were proud wearing it, whatever jersey it was, whether it was the Pride, the military night, the cancer nights.
In its story, categorizing the NHL banning Pride Tape, as the league creating its own ‘Don’t Say Gay’ policy, Outsports noted that the action taken is, as far as Outsports is aware, “the most stifling, anti-LGBTQ policy any pro sports league in North America has ever issued.”
The message the NHL is sending: Hockey is not for everyone.
The use of ‘Pride Tape’ was promulgated by NHL and NHLPA in an effort to eradicate homophobia under the NHL’s Hockey Is For Everyone banner, and has been a program that has proven to be widely performative under the supervision of NHL’s executive vice-president Kim Davis.
One person noted on background to Arun Srinivasan, a contributing writer for Yahoo Sports Canada, that use of ‘Pride Tape’ is a small but important act of solidarity with LGBTQ+ communities, allowing NHL players to show their support in a visible way on the ice.
The NHL, the NHLPA and their partner You Can Play have yet to comment on Outsports’ original report.
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