The NHL has issued new guidelines to teams banning players from participating in a number of theme parties this season, according to reports.
The updated guidelines state that on-ice players cannot modify their uniforms or equipment to reflect theme night celebrations, including LGBTQ+ Pride, Military Appreciation, Hockey Fights Cancer, Latino Heritage Month and Black History Month. The ban – which includes acts such as the use of rainbow-colored tape on hockey sticks – extends to team games, warm-ups and practices.
NHL players can, however, voluntarily participate in themed celebrations when they are not playing.
The NHL released updated guidelines in a memo sent to teams ahead of Tuesday’s regular season openers for the 2023-24 season.
Pride Tape, a manufacturer of rainbow-colored sports tapes in support of the LGBTQ+ community, said it was “extremely disappointed by the NHL’s decision to eliminate Pride Tape from all on-ice activities in the NHL.” the league “.
“The league has used language in recent days that would prohibit the broadcast of the tape near NHL hockey,” Pride Tape said in A declaration. “We hope that the league – and the teams – will once again demonstrate their commitment to this important symbol in the fight against homophobia. »
The updated guidelines come months after the NHL announced in June that teams would no longer be allowed to wear “special” jerseys – celebrating many of the aforementioned theme nights – during games, warm-ups or practices.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the move “removed the distraction” after a few players around the league refused to wear Pride Night jerseys last season.
“What happened last year was that the question of who wanted to wear a particular uniform on a particular night overshadowed everything our clubs were doing. So what we said, at the Instead of having this distraction and having our players decide whether or not they wanted to do something or not and being pointed at, we said, ‘Let’s not touch it,'” Bettman told ESPN Radio “UnSportsmanLike” Tuesday.
“Whether in sport or off the ice, our teams and players are continually encouraged to give back to communities and get involved in causes that matter to them,” he said. added. “But what I think we’ve done is we’ve removed any distractions. We can now focus on the causes we want to promote.”
