“Hockey is For Everyone.”
That is what the National Hockey League has claimed in their campaign to grow the game of ice hockey.
You see the slogan on television advertisements during games. You see it in the league’s social media posts. It has supposedly been a focal point for the NHL since it was launched in 2017.
After Thursday’s announcement by league commissioner Gary Bettman, it sure doesn’t seem like it’s true.
When asked by Sportsnet reporter Elliotte Friedman about Pride jerseys after the league’s Board of Governors’ meeting, Bettman revealed that all specialty warmup jerseys will be banned for the 2023-24 season.
The controversy surrounding jerseys arose when former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to wear a Pride jersey in warmups back on January 17th. He stayed in the locker room until the team came out for the start of the game.
Provorov cited his religious beliefs as the reason he chose not to take the ice in warmups.
After the game, head coach John Tortorella backed up his blueliner.
“With Provy, he’s being true to himself and his religion. It has to do with his belief and his religion. It’s one thing I respect about Provy – he’s always true to himself, so that’s where we’re at with that.”
After his decision, more players began to follow suit.
Florida Panthers forward Eric Staal and defenseman Marc Staal both stood behind their religious beliefs as reason for not wearing jerseys on Florida’s Pride Night, despite photographic evidence of each wearing jerseys with prior clubs before and the elder Staal claiming he had never worn one before.
San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer also cited religion as the reason he opted out of wearing a Pride jersey on San Jose’s celebratory night.
Religion aside, some players of Russian decent also opted out of wearing Pride jerseys, allegedly fearing punishment or retribution in their native land following the passing of a Russian law.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, Vancouver Canucks forward Andrei Kuzmenko, and Montréal Canadiens forward Denis Gurianov all opted out of wearing the jerseys, though notable Russian players such as Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin wore them this past season, so do what you will with that information.
Even entire teams shut down wearing jerseys. The Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, and New York Rangers scrapped their jerseys altogether in controversial fashion, all rumored to be for the protection of their Russian players, though Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov and Rangers forward Artemi Panarin and goaltender Igor Shesterkin have worn them in the past.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly also said, “We take all risks seriously, and this one is no different. Having said that, we have no information that would suggest there is any material threat that would exist (in Russia or otherwise) related to a Russian player participating in a club’s Pride activities.”
It has understandably become a hot-button topic. The “stick to sports” crowd will tell you it is a great decision by the NHL. The vast majority of others would disagree, however.
Wearing any specialty warmup jersey – not just for Pride – is a great way to celebrate an a theme night. It is a way to show support in the smallest and easiest way possible. So many teams do wonderful things with their warmup jerseys and host a plethora of theme nights that they coincide with.
Pride, Hockey Fights Cancer, Black History, Asian Heritage, Indigenous Celebration, Military Appreciation, St. Patrick’s Day, Dío de los Muertos, Lunar New Year, Diwali, Hispanic Heritage, Gender Equality, and other causes – all will now be without specialty jerseys.
That even goes for other jerseys. Think about the Flyers wearing special warmup jerseys for Claude Giroux’s 1,000th NHL game, or for Lou Nolan’s 50 years of PA announcing, or for Steve Coates’ 43 years of broadcasting. None of those jerseys would have been worn if this ban was in effect before.
Of course, the league can still make their profits and sell countless replica jerseys, but they can’t be bothered to showcase them on the ice because it has been deemed by the commissioner himself “a distraction.”
If anything, banning all specialty warmup jerseys is a much bigger distraction for the league. By cancelling warmup jerseys for any theme night on the heels of the Pride jersey situation – where this whole controversy originated from – the NHL has cast a much larger light on the issue and created a distraction that was even bigger than before.
Announcing the ban during Pride Month also undoubtedly projects more attention on the situation.
Oskar Lindblom famously beat Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, while playing for the Flyers and became a main focus of the league’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. Imagine if Lindblom or the Flyers couldn’t have worn those beautiful lavender sweaters to not only support those affected by the disease, but Lindblom himself. Seems pretty messed up, right?
How about Luke Prokop? He is the first openly gay player to sign an NHL contract after being drafted by Nashville in 2020. How do you think he feels now that he may never be able to wear a Pride sweater and to share that moment with other members of the LGBTQIA+ community?
Even outside of taking away a main piece of these theme nights’ celebrations, the trickle-down effect will be even worse. Plenty of teams collaborate with artists to help design some of these jerseys, who will now be without the opportunity to showcase their work. Charities and foundations that benefit from warmup-used jersey auctions won’t receive the funds they once would because of this ban as well.
The NHL needs these theme nights and these jerseys, too. They need to show everyone that they belong, and this game is truly for everyone. They are not nearly in a powerful enough position in the North American sports landscape to cave in to the demands of a small, divisive minority.
It is not about “bringing politics into sports”, it is not about “indoctrinating your children”, it is not about “being woke”, and it is not about “forcing beliefs”.
People exist, all in their own different ways, and we can’t ignore that.
If you disagree with any of that, you are what’s wrong with this sport and you are the main reason why this league continues to move backward, not the people who know the warmup jerseys have their rightful place and know what they mean to people.
Showing compassion, love, and understanding should just be a simple task for any decent human. For the ones celebrating the league’s awful decision, they should take a long look in the mirror.
“Hockey is for Everyone.”
As much as this disgrace of a league wants you to believe the opposite, hockey clearly isn’t for everyone yet.
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