After several professional NHL players refused to wear LGBTQ+ pride shirtsThe league announced that it would now be removing themed jerseys.
During the last years, National Hockey League teams added LGBTQ+ Pride themselves on their seasonal theme nights, which also include events such as Black History, Military Appreciation, and Hockey Fights Cancer. At these nights, players wear jerseys that match the theme while they warm up, which are then auctioned off with the proceeds going to associated charities.
This year, several teams have chose not to wear Pride jerseys or put rainbow tape on their sticks. While some players have refused to wear the jerseys, citing their personal beliefs, some teams have chosen not to wear them at all, depriving players of that choice.
On Thursday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the league’s board of governors decided to abandon the theme jerseys altogether because they believe the players’ refusal to wear them overshadows the purpose of the parties.
“It’s become an additional distraction from the very essence of what the goals of these parties are,” Bettman said. Sportsnet“We focus on the game. And on these special nights, we’re going to focus on the cause.”
Teams will continue to celebrate themed nights, including Pride. They will also continue to design and produce jerseys that will be autographed and auctioned off for charity. Players just won’t wear them during warmups.
Many NHL fans and partners have expressed disappointment with the decision, including You Can Play, an organization that works with professional sports leagues to promote inclusion, which helps the NHL host its Pride or Hockey is for everyone nights by facilitating jersey auctions. In a statement, they said they were “concerned and disappointed” by the decision.
“Today’s decision means that more than 95 per cent of players who chose to wear a Pride jersey in support of the community will no longer have the opportunity to do so,” they wrote. “The work to make locker rooms, meeting rooms and arenas safer, more diverse and more inclusive must be ongoing and determined, and we will continue to work with our NHL partners, including individual teams, players, agents and the NHLPA, to ensure this essential work continues.”
