Pride nights, held annually for several years by 春色直播 Hockey League teams to show support for the LGBTQ+ community, are in the spotlight following several high-profile incidents this season.
A handful of players have objected to participating in pregame warmups that included Pride-themed jerseys, on Thursday night. On Wednesday, the Chicago Blackhawks decided against having players wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys for their upcoming Pride night, in Russia.
WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIONS?
The Staal brothers and San Jose's James Reimer 鈥 who are 春色直播 鈥 and Philadelphia's Ivan Provorov, who is Russian, all pointed to their religious beliefs for refusing to take part in warmups.
鈥淲e carry no judgement on how people choose to live their lives, and believe that all people should be welcome in all aspects of the game of hockey,鈥 Eric and Marc Staal said in a statement. 鈥淗aving said that, we feel that by us wearing a Pride jersey, it goes against our Christian beliefs.鈥
The Blackhawks said they acted out of concern that the safety of their Russian player and two others with connections to Russia could be jeopardized by the law when they return home because it
Chicago coach Luke Richardson said he and his players were disappointed.
鈥淚t's an unfortunate situation,鈥 Richardson said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we can control the world issues, so that takes it out of our hands.鈥
The New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild decided not wear Pride-themed jerseys during warmups after advertising that they would. While each team has at least one star Russian player on its roster, neither specified the reason for the change.
IS THIS RELATED TO RUSSIA'S WAR IN UKRAINE?
Somewhat. Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine and the anti-gay law signed by President Vladimir Putin in December have combined to pose some problems for the NHL and its 32 teams.
. The Russian contingent includes some of the league's best athletes.
There are currently 45 Russia-born players spread across 28 teams, or about 6.4% of all players. They include No. 2 career goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay鈥檚 two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning teammate and 2019 MVP Nikita Kucherov and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.
The top five highest-earning Russian players receive an average annual salary of $11.1 million this season. Sergei Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender who is making $12 million, participated in Florida's warmup in a Pride-themed jersey.
in part out of concern for the safety of their loved ones at home. It was not clear if there was any credible threat behind the Blackhawks鈥 decision.
WHAT鈥橲 THE NHL鈥橲 HISTORY WITH PRIDE?
The Stanley Cup first appeared at a Pride parade in 2010 when then-Blackhawks defenseman Brent Sopel brought it to the celebration in Chicago. A few years later, in 2013, the league partnered with the You Can Play Project, which advocates for LGBTQ+ participation in sports. The NHL added team Pride ambassadors in 2016-17.
Rainbow Pride stick tape debuted with the Edmonton Oilers in 2016. Now all 32 teams hold a Pride night, though many do so without themed jerseys. The Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets call theirs 鈥淗ockey Is For Everyone" night.
Pride nights, like other themed events, are planned and staged by individual teams, not the NHL.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE REACTION?
The You Can Play Project responded to Reimer's decision by saying it was disappointed.
鈥淩eligion and respect are not in conflict with each other, and we are certainly disappointed when religion is used as a reason to not support our community,鈥 the organization said.
as the first player signed to an NHL contract to come out as gay,
WHAT DID LEAGUE OFFICIALS SAY?
, defending teams' handling of the situation, said the boycotts were not about accepting bigotry.
鈥淲hether or not you choose to embrace and make a statement on behalf of a cause affirmatively, if you choose not to do that, it doesn鈥檛 necessarily make you a bigot,鈥 Bettman said last month. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure you don鈥檛 endorse every single charity that solicits you, and you don鈥檛 participate in every social cause. You pick and choose the ones that are important to you."
The league declined to comment on the Blackhawks鈥 decision.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Teams with Pride nights coming up have some decisions to make. The Buffalo Sabres are set to host their event on Monday, and the Vancouver Canucks on March 31. Each team has at least one Russian player.
It was not clear if players would wear Pride jerseys in warmups, as the teams have done in the past.
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