Current:Home > MarketsNHL says players cannot use rainbow-colored sticks on Pride nights-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
NHL says players cannot use rainbow-colored sticks on Pride nights
View Date:2024-12-24 08:30:59
The NHL sent a memo to teams last week clarifying what players can and cannot do as part of theme celebrations this season, including a ban on the use of rainbow-colored stick tape for the Pride nights that have become a hot-button issue in hockey.
The updated guidance reaffirms on-ice player uniforms and gear for games, warmups and official team practices cannot be altered to reflect theme nights, including Pride, Hockey Fights Cancer or military appreciation celebrations. Players can voluntarily participate in themed celebrations off the ice.
Deputy NHL Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday, a few hours before the season opened with a trio of games, that the league sent the updated memo, which was 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, ripped the league by saying, "If Hockey is for Everyone, this is not the way forward."
"It is now clear that the NHL is stepping back from its longstanding commitment to inclusion, and continuing to unravel all of its one-time industry-leading 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, is in jeopardy. Making decisions to eradicate our visibility in hockey — by eliminating symbols like jerseys and now Pride Tape — immediately stunts the impact of bringing in more diverse fans and players into the sport."
Controversy over players donning Pride-themed gear started last season
The NHL decided in June not to allow teams to wear any theme jerseys for warmups after a handful of players opted out of those situations during Pride night last season. The league has said players opting out of Pride nights served as a distraction to the work its teams were doing in the community.
"You know what our goals, our values and our intentions are across the league, whether it's at the league level or at the club level," Commissioner Gary Bettman said in February during All-Star Weekend festivities. "But we also have to respect some individual choice, and some people are more comfortable embracing themselves in causes than others. And part of being diverse and welcoming is understanding those differences."
Philadelphia's Ivan Provorov was the first player to decide not to take part 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 a variety of reasons — fellow Russians Ilya Lyubushkin, Denis Gurianov and Andrei Kuzmenko and Canadians James Reimer and Eric and Marc Staal — and individual teams including the New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks decided not to have any players wear Pride jerseys in warmup.
"The Pride Tape team is extremely disappointed by the NHL's decision," the makers of Pride Tape said in a statement. "Despite this setback, we are encouraged for what lies ahead based on our recent conversations from every corner of the sport."
Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly told reporters in Toronto he wished players had the right to do more and be more involved.
"I'm going to continue to be involved in the community and offer support to those communities and those groups that want that (and) need that," Rielly said.
- In:
- NHL
- Pride
- LGBTQ+
- Hockey
veryGood! (553)
Related
- Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn Coming Out of Retirement at 40
- Trans youth sue over Louisiana's ban on gender-affirming health care
- Saving Money in 2024? These 16 Useful Solutions Basically Pay For Themselves
- DeSantis and Haley go head to head: How to watch the fifth Republican presidential debate
- CRYPTIFII Introduce
- Trans youth sue over Louisiana's ban on gender-affirming health care
- Republicans are taking the first step toward holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress
- Armed attack during live broadcast at Ecuadorian TV station. What’s behind the spiraling violence?
- Martha Stewart playfully pushes Drew Barrymore away in touchy interview
- Special counsel Jack Smith and Judge Tanya Chutkan, key figures in Trump 2020 election case, are latest victims of apparent swatting attempts
Ranking
- Wicked Director Jon M. Chu Reveals Name of Baby Daughter After Missing Film's LA Premiere for Her Birth
- South Korean lawmakers back ban on producing and selling dog meat
- Apple is sending out payments to iPhone owners impacted by batterygate. Here's what they are getting.
- Shanna Moakler Accuses Ex Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian of Parenting Alienation
- Police cruiser strikes and kills a bicyclist pulling a trailer in Vermont
- AI-powered misinformation is the world’s biggest short-term threat, Davos report says
- CBS announces exclusive weeklong residency in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII
- Japan’s nuclear safety agency orders power plant operator to study the impact of Jan. 1 quake
Recommendation
-
Tuskegee University closes its campus to the public, fires security chief after shooting
-
As Maryland’s General Assembly Session Opens, Environmental Advocates Worry About Funding for the State’s Bold Climate Goals
-
Florida deputy delivers Chick-fil-A order after DoorDash driver arrested on DUI charges
-
25 years of 'The Sopranos': Here's where to watch every episode in 25 seconds
-
Mattel says it ‘deeply’ regrets misprint on ‘Wicked’ dolls packaging that links to porn site
-
Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers deal prompts California controller to ask Congress to cap deferred payments
-
Armed attack during live broadcast at Ecuadorian TV station. What’s behind the spiraling violence?
-
As DeSantis and Haley face off in Iowa GOP debate, urgency could spark fireworks