— PWHLPA (@PWHLPA) October 11, 2023
Reminder: Whenever you see someone try to challenge diversity in hockey with “who cares or why does it matter” slap that crap down ASAP
— Avry’s Sports Show (@Avry) February 28, 2020
Roughly a month ago, Ivan Provorov skipped warm-ups for the Philadelphia Flyers’ Pride Night game. The rest of the Philadelphia Flyers team wore their Pride jerseys and taped their sticks with rainbow tape. Provorov cited his Russian Orthodox beliefs. The Russian Orthodox Church believes homosexuality is a sin.
About a week and a half later, the New York Rangers team took warm-ups but did not wear their Pride jerseys or use the rainbow tape as advertised. In both incidences, the players were allowed to play. There was plenty of criticism from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies for the Rangers and Provorov. According to USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano, the New York Rangers issued the following statement: “Our organization respects the LGBTQ+ community and we are proud to bring attention to important local community organizations as part of another great Pride Night . . . .In keeping with our organization’s core values, we support everyone’s right to respectfully express their beliefs.”
The latest team to skip the jerseys and tape was the New York Islanders. It is becoming an epidemic. It’s going to challenge the goodwill the NHL is trying to build and the example it is trying to set for its fans’ behavior. The NHL has been trying to improve its relations with various communities such as the LGBTQ+ community. While the NHL supports its players’ beliefs, the above incidents put a strain on its young relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. It could be viewed by other marginalized communities as insincerity.
There will need to be a balancing act for the NHL between promoting its goals, getting the teams and players on board, and building trust with marginalized communities. Provorov should have been excused from playing for the Flyers vs Anaheim Ducks game. That may have squashed the issue for the League. While one can respect the solidarity of the Rangers’ players, it made the organization look sketchy. Being an ally means putting skin in the game.
The NHL is going to need to take a hard stance on handling these incidents. Otherwise, it should expect more of these incidents to happen and more severe criticism. I would recommend more intense education on the LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities for players and organizations. I would also recommend the teams have a protocol outside of the coach to handle situations like Provorov.
Thankfully, there are teams like the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes who helped the NHL’s reputation by showing more allyship than others. You can’t say “hockey is for everyone” and then not be real ally.. Otherwise, you set your LGBTQ+ fans up to continue being harassed.
This is the largest thing that's been the easiest for any LGBTQ+ person on hockey twitter to notice – it's not the players. It's not the coaches. It's not the GMs. It's the fans going out and actively attacking queer and trans people online and it's the worst it's ever been. https://t.co/oghm003Nq3
— robert 🏳️🌈 (@rs_molloy) January 30, 2023
As an ally to the LGBQT+ community especially for some of my former and future teammates, there is nothing Christ-like about that behavior. Sleeping with the opposite sex unmarried isn’t any less of a sin than sleeping with the same sex. Just ask the Pope:
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake
*Since the original posting of this article, the Columbus Blue Jackets place Ivan Provorov on its team. It remains to be seen how the Blue Jackets will navigate this issue as it sits in a metro area that is #25 in the United States for LGBQT+ adult population.
Source: TYT Sports