The NHL sent a memo to teams last week clarifying what players can and cannot do as part of themed celebrations this season, including banning the use of rainbow-colored tape to the pride nights that have become a hot topic in hockey. .
The updated guidelines reaffirm that player uniforms and equipment on the ice for warm-ups and official team practices cannot be altered to reflect theme nights, including Pride, hockey celebrations against cancer or military recognition celebrations. Players may voluntarily participate in themed off-ice celebrations.
WATCH | NHL Bans Pride Tapes:
The NHL prohibits the use of Rainbow Pride Tape and other themed ribbons on the ice. The change is part of an updated uniform policy, which banned themed jerseys for warmups in June, after a handful of players opted not to wear Pride jerseys last season.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday, hours before the season opened with three games, that the league had sent out the updated memo, first reported by ESPN.
The You Can Play Project, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ participation in sports and has partnered with the NHL for the past decade, tore into the league, declaring, “If hockey is for everyone, this is not the way to go. »
“It is now clear that the NHL is moving backwards from its long-standing commitment to inclusion and continues to dismantle all of its cutting-edge work on 2SLGBTQ+ belonging,” the YCP Project said in a statement. “We are now at a point where all the progress made and relationships established with our community are at risk.
“Making decisions to eradicate our visibility in hockey – by eliminating symbols like jerseys and now the Pride Tape – immediately dampens the impact of bringing more diverse fans and players to the sport. »
Thank you for all the kindness and support from around the world over the last 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/ArtXrPiLZa
—@PrideTape
“Team Pride Tape is extremely disappointed by the NHL’s decision to eliminate Pride Tape from all league on-ice activities,” Pride Tape’s creators said in a tweet Tuesday.
“The league has used language in recent days that would prohibit the broadcast of any proximity to NHL hockey. We hope that the league — and the teams — will once again demonstrate their commitment to this important symbol in the fight against homophobia .”
The NHL decided in June not to allow teams to wear themed jerseys for warmups after a handful of players opted out of those situations on Pride Night last season. The league said players opting out of Pride nights was a distraction from the work its teams were doing in the community.
WATCH | NHL players will stop wearing Pride jerseys:
The NHL is ending the practice of teams wearing special jerseys on theme nights after a handful of players refused to wear Pride jerseys, which the commissioner called a distraction.
“You know what our goals and our values ​​and our intentions are across the league, whether it’s at the league level or the club level,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said in February during All-Star Weekend festivities. . “But we also need to respect some individual choices, and some people are more comfortable engaging in causes than others. And being diverse and welcoming requires understanding those differences.”
Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov was the first player to decide not to participate in warmups when the Flyers wore rainbow-colored jerseys before their Pride Night game in January, citing his Russian Orthodox religion.
Six other players followed for various reasons – Russians Ilya Lyubushkin, Denis Gurianov and Andrei Kuzmenko and Canadians James Reimer, Eric and Marc Staal – and individual teams, including the New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild and Chicago, decided not to let any player wear clothing. Pride jerseys warming up.
WATCH | A handful of NHL players oppose wearing Pride-themed jerseys:
Canadian NHL players Mark and Eric Staal are the latest to join a handful of others who are refusing to wear Pride-themed warm-up jerseys in support of the LGBTQ community. This sparked a debate about inclusiveness and personal freedom in the pro-hockey community.
Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly told reporters in Toronto he wishes players were allowed to do more and be more involved.
“I’m going to continue to be involved in the community and offer support to communities and groups that want it (and) need it,” Rielly said.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and defenseman Josh Morrissey both said they haven’t yet had a chance to review the league’s changes.
“I know this organization takes great care to be inclusive and to have theme nights,” Cheveldayoff told reporters in Winnipeg. “I really can’t speak to the details of the memos. I don’t really have them yet.
“I’ll obviously have to be informed a little bit more about that. But I know the commitment from the organization’s point of view is we’ll do everything we can.”
“It’s always been something I’ve tried to embrace, the different theme nights and obviously the inclusivity around hockey,” Morrissey said. “Trying to make everyone feel comfortable playing, watching or being a part of what I think is the greatest game in the world. So that won’t change, I guess, as a personal goal to try to develop the game, regardless of what the memo says.”
