NHL bans all theme-night gear, including Pride symbols, from uniforms
By: NBC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The NHL issued a sweeping ban against on-ice theme night gear, barring clubs from having players wear rainbow sweaters or use multicolored tape on sticks during Pride Night, for example, officials confirmed Tuesday.
The move, first reported Monday by the LGBTQ news site Outsports, followed a 2022-23 season when a handful of players — including Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov and then-San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer — declined to participate in their clubs' Pride Night celebrations.
Outsports called the NHL's new directive "the most stifling, anti-LGBTQ policy any pro sports league in North America has ever issued."
Representatives for the NHL and the players union did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Deputy NHL Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday that the league sent a memo to all 32 clubs with updated guidance barring any on-ice uniform or gear used in warmups from including any theme night celebrations.
Kurt Weaver, the chief operations officer of the You Can Play Project, told NBC News that the leaguewide memo went to clubs Thursday. You Can Play is a partner of the NHL and its "Hockey Is for Everyone" campaign, aimed at stomping out homophobia and spreading the game to underrepresented groups.
Weaver said league officials confirmed to him that teams will be barred from having players wear Pride sweaters or have rainbow tape on their sticks.
"When you start to take away what is our most visible representations, what carries the most weight in messaging, is those heroes that you see on the ice standing up for they believe and what they believe is right," Weaver said. "And removing those from the ice is a tough one."
Weaver praised years of efforts by the NHL, teams and players to fight homophobia but admitted that last week's league memo was a bitter pill to swallow.
"It's hard to reconcile that right now, with decisions like this. But I see too many great things that the clubs do, that hockey in general does. It's success after success," he said. "But that right now is clouded by a really poor decision that's going to overtake all that good work."
Jeff McLean, a spokesperson for Pride Tape, said the company is "extremely disappointed by the NHL's decision" to ban its product from on-ice activities this season. The company is looking forward to better days ahead.
"We hope the league — and teams — will again show commitment to this important symbol of combating homophobia," the company said. "Many of the players themselves have been exceptional advocates for the tape."
The recent NHL communication to clubs also left the door open for players to object to being in "close proximity" to people or groups whom they might consider to be "associated" with causes they don't support, Outsports reported.
"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)," the league allegedly told clubs, Outsports reported.
The potential "proximity" policy had Anaheim Ducks organist Lindsay Imber wondering out loud whether she could be, in theory, booted from her Honda Center nest over gender identity.
"At the executive level, we just don't have representation, and if we don't have representation up there, they don't know us," she said Tuesday. "So then the people formulating these decisions don't have this perspective, which leads to policies that are exclusionary."
Keep on topic.
Keep it civil.
Take your memes somewhere else.
Take your trolling somewhere else.
Tags
Who is online
29 visitors
This isn't going to sit well with some.
Players who choose not to participate, like Reimer and Provoroy have been the targets of outrage for their decisions.
It's about time.
The groups you disparage have had to deal with being treated as second class for millenia and you can't handle it for 2 years? How weak!
I agree, your argument is weak. Do you think that such symbolism is appropriate in all situations?
Se disparaging players who wish to not participate is fine? This about staying neutral. The issue around these players is a distraction from the sport. So, it only makes sense to eliminate the whole thing and allow them to play.
One night is not all situations and no one is forced to partake.
I never said that, and Vic is not a player.
I never said or insinuated Vic was a player. But you do seem to accept disparaging the players because they chose not to participate. And for what? To make yourself feel better?
Not at all, if anything I disparage the NHL owners who think nothing of pocketing huge sums from corporate ads on the player's jerseys throughout the season and then get all soggy milktoast over a one day rainbow. Puhlease!
So you are good with disparaging people over non-participation.
I'm fine with disparaging hypocrites and the NHL owners are that. As to the players, and this goes for all sports, athletes such as Provory thru Kaepernick and Rapinoe have an equal right to free speech. Odd how Provory trumps the latter two.
Would you be okay with disparaging Russian players if they decided they didn't want to wear the specialty jerseys on military appreciation night due to the conflict in Ukraine?
Honestly I could care less. I don't watch hockey to virtue signal anything.
So what's the problem?
Given the article is about the NHL not the NFL or FIFA, why discuss them?
Neither do I, but would you have posted an article about people disparaging Russian players if they decided not to wear specialized jerseys for military appreciation night over the conflict in Ukraine, because you and i both know that if that happened some people would want their heads on a platter which is why they're not doing any specialized jerseys anymore.
Well how much coinage does the alphabet coalition pay for that one day?
If you read THIS ARTICLE. It bans on-ice theme night gear. It would cover that as well.
Despite what some may say, it's not disparaging ANYBODY. The NHL is saying they are remaining neutral. That they will show no preference either way.
I did read the article and I've known about this since the end of last season. The fact is the article also says the reason for the ban is because of what happened during pride nights. So, no you haven't answered my question, which is no surprise since you never do.
Just a guess, ZILCH+ ...
So what's the problem.
Your question was answered in 1.1.15.
So, like it or not, your hypothetical is answered.
Nope, you didn't answer, but again, that's typical.
Sounds like something you need to work through. Have a good day.
I don't need to work through anything. I never expected you to actually answer any questions since you NEVER EVER do.
Exactly..............wanna play, ya gotta play
You done trolling now?
I'm not trolling. I asked questions. You refuse to answer. Those are the facts. If you don't like it, then that's a YOU problem.
Your question:
My answer:
What about that is so hard for you to understand?
My second question was:
which you have yet to answer. You only seeded this article because it was about Pride/LGBTQ, yet for whatever reason, you're afraid to answer the question I posed honestly. That's okay, I know the answer that you're afraid to give.
If you read 1.1.25 I addressed that. Just like I did in 1.1.11.
Nope. You haven't because your "Honestly I could care less" is rendered moot by you seeding this article. If you didn't care, you would have never seeded it. Like I said, I already know the answer that you refuse to give.
So, because YOU don't like my answer, means it's MY problem? Sorry. You need to work that out all on your own.
Now take the trolling somewhere else.
Again, no trolling here no matter how many times you say it. If you think I'm trolling, that's again a YOU problem.
You never provided an answer so yes, that's another YOU problem.
Good! Helping to level the NHL playing field by not letting any team promoting anything on uniforms or equipment other than their own teams by helping to eliminate divisiveness.
And unfortunately there are some who have a problem with that.
The same bigots who object to this new policy would be the first ones to object to religious symbols like the cross or a menorah.
Then there are the retards who get all upset over players sharing a prayer.
Perhaps the bigots who objected to the old policy should have thought about this before being so bigoted?
As opposed to the retards who get all upset because someone marries someone else of the same sex?
Perhaps we should all be a bit more tolerant of how others want to live their lives? But the populist right wing SJW have their mission to homogenize us all in their image and until then anyone that disagrees is a dirty pinko commie social marxist...
Gilead today, Gilead tomorrow ... Gilead forever!
Hypocrites today, hypocrites tomorrow, hypocrites forever.
This was announced at the end of the 2022-2023 season, so every hockey fan knew back then. There is no reason for this to be a controversy now.
Much ado about nothing.
Exactly.
If that's true, they have zero to complain about in any sport.